The Most Beautiful
by Reigns'Sweetheart
Summary: Danielle and Roman wanted nothing to do with each other after their initial encounter. They were hungry for something that made them feel alive and so that's what they did. What started as an attempt to get along, turned into the unexpected as an angel seeking peace, finally had someone who craved her and the adventure that came along with her.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

 _ **The Beginning...**_

Growing up, days and nights were spent dreaming of ways to get out and have wings spread. For sisters, Danielle and Gabriella, there wasn't a night since their younger years, that they would dream of such a thing. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, they were the daughters of struggling musicians who barely made enough to make a living for themselves, let alone two little kids. Their mother, Angela, was a songbird with a voice of an angel and enough talent to make something out of it. Their father, Brendan, was a guitarist, who in the beginning of his career, had the connections that every aspiring musician wished they could have, or wished they would be able to come across to catch their big break. But his drinking and drug use, made those connections impossible to keep, at the height of his addictions.

After cleaning up his act, he met Angela shortly after. Within a year, you would have to be blind to not see the love that they had for each other and how happy they were. But things weren't always so smooth for them. Because of how bad things had gotten for Brendan during his drug and alcohol abuse, he became someone that people couldn't always depend on. He had burned a lot of bridges along the way and so a lot of people no longer wanted to work with him. He had become someone who always bought in trouble. Someone who wasn't dependable.

Brendan became so focused on trying to get his career back off the ground, that he didn't bother to think about how much Angela wanted for her career. No matter how much she tried, all of the shows and open mic nights that she tried to take in, it wasn't enough to get her noticed. She didn't have the money to make her way to New York or California, to make it to the big record labels to hand out her demos. It was hard enough as it is, for her to get the money to record her demos. Financial issues began to strain the relationship.

When she became pregnant with Danielle, things didn't get much better. By this time, she had already put her dreams of being a successful singer on the back burner to help support Brendan. Shortly after giving birth to Danielle, she had become pregnant once more with Gabriella. With two kids under the age of one that had to be taken care of, the relationship between the parents of two was at one of its lowest points.

For the next 18 years that followed, the girls didn't have much luck. Two different states, several cities and towns, nine schools, five different school districts, trailer parks, one bedroom apartments, cars and bridges. Those were the things that they had come to know. Though they had gained full academic scholarships to college from managing to maintain perfect grades, it wasn't always roses and stars after graduating college. The girls had managed to get jobs after graduating with their degrees. But Gabriella had lost her job and Danielle wasn't so lucky either, as the same fate came her way, two months after. Without any other income to support themselves, and parents who were unlikely to help, they ended up losing their apartments.

With no where to go, and parents who didn't have the means to help them out, they were pretty much on their own. One day, on a whim, they decided to take what little they had, and leave. Taking the money that they had left from saving what they could from working, they got in Danielle's car, and decided on Florida. After living in their car for a few weeks, they managed to get themselves an apartment in a low-income neighborhood. It wasn't the best neighborhood in Pensacola, but it was better than being homeless. From there, they slowly made their way into minimum wage jobs, that would hold them until they were able to get themselves into a better situation.

 ** _Two years later..._**

After of a few months of working as hard as they could with what they had, the sisters were able to have enough to take the exams needed for their licenses. Gabriella for her nursing license and Danielle for law. Once they had both passed, they began to look for jobs in their fields. This was something that they were hoping to get since the day they arrived in Florida.

"Danielle!" Exclaimed Gabriella as they walked into each other's hug. Though they live close by, it wasn't always easy for them to see each other with how much they worked.

"Gabby!" She exclaimed with a big smile, as they greeted each other at the parking lot. They were spending the day at the mall, and just enjoy the day together.

The sisters were only 11 months apart, but they were as close as can be, the best of friends. After settling down, Danielle and Dean looked at each other before smiling and sharing a hug. Dean was Gabriella's boyfriend and they had been together now for about 9 months. He was a good guy, a bit rough around the edges sometimes, but a really good guy. Dean was amazing to Gabriella and Danielle couldn't have asked for a better guy for her. He had amazing blue eyes with dirty blonde hair and stood at 6 foot 4. With his muscular body, it wasn't a surprise as to why she found him attractive.

Standing at five foot six, Gabriella held jet black hair with blue eyes, a pointy nose and a soft jawline. Her lips were full and her figure was slender, but with curves in all the right places. Danielle stood at five foot seven with one blue eye and one honey colored eye, with jet black hair. Supple lips, a small button nose, and a more oval shape to her face, her eyes always made her stand out.

"Those eyes of yours are crazy. I bet you get compliments all the time." Dean says. He was a business man, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio who had moved out to Florida, a few years prior to the girls doing so.

"A lot of people just look at me like I'm weird." Danielle says. "At least, that's the looks I used to get, growing up. People always thought I was wearing contacts. I think some people still do."

"They just can't appreciate the beauty of her eyes, is all." Gabriella adds.

As they made their up to the top floor of the mall, to work their way down, Gabriella and Dean stopped when they saw a mutual friend of theirs. Danielle stepped aside to answer a phone call, which took a few minutes and when she hung up, she felt something big, push past her. The impact was hard enough for her to lose a bit of her balance, before quickly regaining it.

"Watch where you're going." She heard herself say.

"Sorry." The man had said.

Taking a look at him, she knew he stood at over six feet. With large muscles and a sleeve tattoo that she saw on the bottom half one of his arms, with the short sleeve shirt that he had on, she was instantly attracted. With raven black hair, a goatee and tan skin, she wasn't sure what his ethnicity was.

"Whatever." Danielle ended up mumbling as she turned around and started to walk away.

"You don't need to have an attitude, I apologized. People don't seem to take apologies very well nowadays. Or are you just one of those people who expect others to move out of the way when you come around?" He said to her.

She turned to face him. "I don't have an attitude. And for your information, we don't know each other. Don't assume things about me as if you do. But, if we're to assume things, then I could say the same about you. Expecting people to move out of the way for you?"

Turning around again, Danielle walked away and hoped she wouldn't have to see the man again. Things went downhill rather quickly, but that was okay. She more than hoped, that they wouldn't cross paths again. Danielle was sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

As Roman made his way into the offices of a law firm, he was hoping to get the help that he wanted and needed. Waiting for the elevator, he wore grey slacks and black dress shoes, with a white button down shirt that was long sleeve. With his raven black hair pulled back into a slick bun, and a freshly shaven face, with a goatee, he was hoping that this meeting would help. At six foot three and 265 pounds of muscle and meat, one would wonder how he was in the position that he was in.

"Good morning, how can I help you today?" Asked the blonde receptionist. With green eyes, and white pearly teeth, she was attractive.

"My name is Roman Reigns and I have an appointment with Mr. Heyman." The large man replied.

She picked up the phone and waited a moment before someone answered. "Mr. Heyman? Your client is here to see you."

After another quick moment, she said okay and hung up the phone. The receptionist informed him to have a seat and that Mr. Heyman would be out in a moment. Roman took a seat and put his folder on top of his bag that he put on top of his lap. His blue eyes pierced the place as he looked around. There were several lawyers here in this firm with staff such as paralegals, legal assistants, and so forth. There were several rooms for offices that were for different uses and each had their own design to it.

"Mr. Reigns?" Asked a voice.

"Yes?" Roman responded, and saw his attorney when he looked up. "How are you?"

The two men shook hands and greeted each other. Paul Heyman was one of the best lawyers around and a lot of people who needed services, looked for him. He was shorter than Roman, probably no more than six feet tall at most. His hair was black and he had a bald spot on the top of his head.

"I wanted to thank you for seeing me today." Roman says as they make their way into the room where he would hold his meetings with clients if there was more than one lawyer that would be present on the case.

"No problem. It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to try and help." He says, closing the door behind him when they entered.

There was a long table in the middle, with chairs surrounding it. Shelves filled with books lined the walls and windows that gave pretty amazing views of Pensacola.

"Let me just introduce you to who will be on the case with us." Heyman said as they all took a seat. "Johnathan Richman, and Eric Landon, both lawyers. Lisa Thomas, who is a paralegal and last but not least, Danielle Brooks who is an attorney."

Roman greeted them all until he reached Danielle. The woman sitting in front of him that he quickly remembered. She wore a black suit with her hair slicked back into a neat ponytail. They hesitated, before they finally said hello to each other. The last time Danielle and Roman saw each other, was at the mall when they had bumped into each other. It wasn't exactly the best first impression that they had of the other, so they weren't exactly thrilled to see each other again.

"So, after taking in the information that you gave the last time you were here," He started off saying. "We have a chance of getting this to court."

"I feel like there's a 'but'." Roman says.

"We can't always predict the outcome for a case that goes to court." Danielle says in a southern accent. "But, nonetheless, we will always try our best to make sure that the client gets the justice they seek."

Roman had to admit, Danielle was attractive and he could tell that she probably wasn't originally from the area, by her accent. There was something about her that gave her almost an exotic look to her, but he couldn't put a finger on what it could be.

"What are the charges that we have a chance of having him guilty for?" Roman asked.

"He can definitely get a weapons charge. What helps is that he has several felonies that he's been convicted of ." Danielle replied. "In the state of Florida, it is illegal for someone who has been convicted of a felony to have in their possession, a firearm, ammunition, or an electrical weapon. They are also prohibited from carrying a concealed weapon."

"How much time can he get?" Roman asked the other lawyers as if Danielle hadn't been the one talking to him.

"A mandatory minimum of three years." She says, ignoring it the first time. "Other factors could increase jail time."

"What's the plan going into this?" Roman asks, ignoring her again.

She looked at the man before looking over at Heyman. He gave her a knowing look, as the other lawyers spoke to him. Danielle felt ignored, and wondered if he really thought that little of her, that he didn't care for anything she had to say. She felt her face turn red, and tried to hide it. It was going to be an uphill battle with him, but she wasn't going to just drop out of this case because of someone who didn't care for her.

After another 45 minutes, the meeting was done for today and Danielle would be free of the man who had payed little to no attention to her until the next scheduled meeting which would be the day before the first hearing. Heyman asked Roman to stay behind for a few extra minutes to talk to him.

"I couldn't help but notice that things seemed a bit tense between you and Ms. Brooks." He started off saying. "It could be just me because it's the first time that you're working together. But just give her a chance. You won't be disappointed, Mr. Reigns."

Roman agreed and shook his hand, thanking the man once more. He let out a sigh as he turned around to walk away. There had to be a reason for why the man wanted him to give the woman a chance. There must of have been something special about her, for him to support her like that.

Just as he slowed down to read a message that he had gotten on his phone, Danielle appeared with a bottle of water and her phone in hand. When their eyes met, the sun that came in from one of the windows, illuminated her face, and helped show her eyes. One blue eye that was as light as could be, and one like the color of honey. Warm and inviting. Though Roman has heard of cases where one would have two different colored eyes, he's never seen it for himself. It made her different. Unique. Beautiful.

"Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Reigns." She softly, and gently, says.

"I thought that maybe you'd come for me or something." He tells her.

Looking at him, she thinks for a moment. "I should, especially with how you ignored me just about the entire time and didn't seem to care about anything that I told you, even though I don't understand why you wouldn't, seeing as how it could have gone worse for you. Look, Mr. Reigns, you don't have to like me and I won't force you, to. But let's just try to be professional. If it's me that you have a problem with, then take it up with _me._ You don't have to make it obvious to other people that you have a problem with me. After this case is over with, you don't have to worry about seeing me again. If it makes you feel better, just think about that."

Something flashed in her eyes, but she hid it before Roman could tell what it was. She walked away and went back into the room that they were in earlier for their meeting. He left quickly after to go back to his office, to do some work and check on everything before going back home.

 ** _Two weeks later..._**

Getting home after a long day of work, Danielle got out of her charcoal colored Chevy Camaro and walked to her two bedroom condo. Opening the door, she closes it behind her and locks it, putting her purse on the small seat that was nearby. A small closet was there and where she would put her sweaters and jackets if she carried one with her that day. There was another closet across from it, with a washer and dryer. Taking off her shoes, and putting it in underneath the chair, she took her purse, a bag of food and her keys and felt the carpet underneath her feet as she walked through the place. Seeing her living room, it had a black sofa and couch, with a flat screen television and the cable box neatly propped nearby with the remote next to it and a small balcony with two chairs. There were pictures in her living room of her and her sister, as well as of some friends. Putting the food on the counter, she continued to her room.

Her bedroom was a pretty good size, good enough for Danielle and to her liking. A King sized bed in the middle of the room with red sheets and blankets. A dresser was to the left of her bed that had some of her perfumes and some makeup that she used, along with a brush for her hair. The condo had two bathrooms and so the master bathroom was attached to her bedroom. It was a little bigger than the other one, but she didn't mind. The bathroom had a white sink, a shower and a closet that she really didn't have anything in, other than a few towels. It was a pretty good sized bathroom. At least, based on what she's been used to her whole life, it was.

The start of the case that she had been assigned to was coming up next week, and so they had been working to get as much as they could for the case. That meant long hours and getting home later than she usually did. After a warm shower, she put on a tank top and shorts, with her hair now in a braid. Going to the kitchen, she grabbed the bag of food from the counter to take it out. The kitchen had granite counters, cabinets that were of wood and a stainless steel stove with an oven. Because of how much she worked and a lot of the long hours that she sometimes had to do, Danielle sometimes felt like she doesn't use the stove enough. There was an island where she was able to see to the living room.

Taking out some of the Chinese food that she had taken, she decided on just warming up the egg roll and saving the rest. Going to the refrigerator, she took out something to drink while putting away the rest of the food. There was a small dining table, that sat four and she decided to sit there after quickly turning on the television. Danielle liked to hear it while she ate. Hearing her phone, she got up from her seat and grabbed it from the counter on the island and saw a familiar name on the screen, wanting to FaceTime. Answering it, she sat back down.

"Hi, Gabriella." She says with a smile when her sister shows up on the screen.

"Hey!" She says. "How was your day?"

Danielle sighs. "Long. Yours?"

"Eh. Not that much better." Gabriella replies. "By the way, I'm taking you out tomorrow for a girls day and night out."

"I don't know about the night out part." Danielle says, not one to usually go out much.

"Please?" The younger of the two says. "You've been so busy the last two weeks and you're about to be more busy at work and you need this right now. Who knows, maybe you could meet someone."

"Gabriella, I don't have time right now for a relationship with how busy I get with work." Danielle tells her.

"And you also choose to not make any time." Gabriella replies. "I know you like to have a good time. But I also know you well enough to know that you would like a relationship. I believe you're ready for one, but you have to make the effort too. Not every guy is going to be like Dad was and not every guy is going to want to stay in that lifestyle. It's been a while since the last time you've been in a relationship."

Danielle sighed. "You're point is for me to have fun at least."

"And to be happy, because we both deserve it. Especially you." Gabriella added.

Danielle thought about it as she took one last bite of her eggroll, thinking about it. "Okay. What time?"

"I will text you the time." Gabriella says, with excitement. "Just be ready for tomorrow."

"I will be ready." She replies with a smile. Danielle wasn't one to deny time with her sister, whenever she could. They were both always so busy and so any chance they could at being together, they took it.

 **A/N: What are your thoughts on why Roman ignored Danielle during their meeting? Could it really be because of his first impression of her when they first met in the mall? Why do you think about Gabriella and Danielle's conversation? Do you think there's a reason for why Danielle hasn't put herself out there so much in a while?**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

Danielle and Gabriella met at their favorite nail salon to begin their day together. Gabriella wore a blue jeans with a dark blue shirt, black boots and her hair in braid. Danielle wore a pair of jeans that reached her ankles with a grey shirt, black boots with some gold near the heel of the boot and her long hair, in two French braids. It was a cloudy, rainy day in Pensacola, but it wasn't going to stop Gabriella from going through with her plans if she believed that it wouldn't.

"So Dean has a friend that he's going to invite to come out with us tonight." She said to Danielle as they sat next to each other with the ladies that would be doing their nails. "He's a business guy, too but they've been friends for years."

"Okay. Won't hurt to try it out." Danielle says. "But I am not going to promise that I'll like him or that we'll hit it off right away or any of that stuff."

Gabriella smiled. "Just enjoy yourself tonight. That's all I'm asking for. Besides, his friend is very hot. I mean, so is Dean, but this guy is someone you may like. I met him through Dean, and he's a nice guy."

"I trust you, so I'm trusting your word on this person." Danielle says.

"You won't be disappointed. I promise you that." She says.

 ** _That night..._**

The sister's made their way into a local club that was packed. The music was loud and you could feel it through the floor. Different colored lights made their way throughout the place, and drinks were flowing through the place. Gabriella made her way through the crowd of people in her black dress that clung to her curves. It reached her knees and she wore matching pumps, with her hair in a neat bun. Danielle followed closely behind in a red dress that reached a few inches above her knees. It showed her curves and her long hair, flowed down her back.

"Dean!" Gabriella exclaimed as they shared a hug and a kiss. They talked for a moment before turning their attention to Danielle.

"I want you to meet my friend, Roman." He says as he steps aside and shows his friend. Little did she know, the person that Dean was introducing was none other than the man who she had to represent in the upcoming case.

The two, quickly realizing this, awkwardly greeted each other, before trying to turn their attention elsewhere. Roman couldn't help but take another look at the woman who was helping out with his case. Danielle held herself in a way that Roman hadn't seen before with someone. He could definitely see the resemblance between the sisters now that they were together and wondered why he didn't notice before when he first met Danielle. She quietly talked to Gabriella, while Dean turned his attention to him.

"What's wrong? You don't like her already?" Dean asks.

"It's not that." Roman replies. "She's the one that I told you about. The one that I bumped into that day in the mall, who ended up being one of the attorney's on my case."

Dean realized what his friend was talking about. "Danielle is really nice, you just have to get to know each other. That means, talking to each other and getting over the whole first impression thing at the mall that day. Besides, she's Gabriella's sister and you're my best friend. To add to that, she's really good at what she does, so you will do fine on your case. Do it for me?"

Roman hesitated before letting out a long sigh after deciding to not be stubborn. He made his way over to where Danielle was standing and greeted her again. From their first encounter, until now, they didn't make any progress with each other as far as communication went. But now, they had to try more than ever to do so. Even if one or both of them didn't want to.

"How are you?" He asks her.

"I'm okay." Danielle replies. "You?"

Taking him in, she realized his features more. Roman's eyes were blue, though it looked like it could also be grey. His hair, neatly pulled back, and a beard growing in around his goatee. A white shirt with jeans and sneakers made him look comfortable. Danielle definitely thought he was attractive, and her sister was right about him when it came to looks.

"I'm good. Do you mind if we talk?" He asks.

"Umm, sure." Danielle says, cautiously.

Leaving Dean and Gabrielle to have some time together, they go over to the bar where the ask the bartender for two drinks. After he quickly gets their drinks, they sit in silence for a moment.

"I know we probably weren't expecting to be in this situation." Roman starts off saying. "Where your sister and my best friend are dating. But since they are, I'm hoping to be in good terms with you."

"Does that mean that you're going to stop ignoring me?" Danielle asks.

"You would have ignored me too if you had the chance to." He says.

Danielle takes a sip of her drink and feels it go down. "You've made it very clear that you don't want to talk to me, and that you could care less about what I have to say. So if it has nothing to do with our working relationship, what reason do we have to talk to each other, even after it's over?"

Another wave of silence came over them before either of them spoke. She was right and Roman knew that. He hasn't treated her the best, and he didn't expect her to want anything to do with him, especially after everything was done. Roman spoke up after taking a few sips, while watching Danielle push hers aside.

"You and Gabriella are nothing alike." He says.

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?" She asks.

He looks over at her and catches her eyes staring back at him. Those eyes that he hasn't forgotten since the day he first noticed them. "Absolutely not. Gabriella is an amazing girl and I love her for Dean. She makes him the happiest that I've ever seen him in the years that we've known each other. But you have something about you that makes you interesting to me."

"We are different." Danielle says softly. "That can be a good thing, though. It can bring out some good qualities in the other, sometimes."

"That's not bad." Roman says. "Maybe we can get to know each other better. Without it feeling like we don't have any other choice."

Danielle thought about it for a moment and looked over at the man sitting next to her. He seemed different to her, than the man she had originally met. She finally got to take a better look at him without any of the influences or circumstance that were around in their previous meetings with each other.

"You sure?" She asks. "I don't think there's any turning back."

"I think it'll be interesting." He says. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"We'll see." Danielle softly says, bringing her drink back to her and playing around with the straw.

For the first time, they share a small but genuine smile with each other. They weren't sure about what this all meant, exactly, but they were about to find out as they were both now set for a journey that they would take together.

 **A/N: Can Roman and Danielle get to know each other without the reason being solely because of Gabriella and Dean dating? How much are they willing to try?**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

The courtroom had more people than Roman had expected. Though it wasn't packed, it had a group of jurors, the judge, attorneys, Roman and the guy who had shot him over a month earlier. The same guy had tried to shoot other people that were in the area, luckily the only person who caught the bullet was the large man who had to see him again in court. Roman stood with a suit that was grey, with a white shirt, black dress shoes and grey slacks. His hair was neatly pulled back into a bun and he had shaven that morning.

The day before, he had met with his attorneys to go over everything one last time to make sure they had everything they needed to begin with the process this morning. Quietly talking, the judge had entered the room and everyone stood. It was a man who appeared to be in his fifties, at least, with glasses and some folders in his hands. He wore the black gown that judges here are known for wearing and had everyone sit down.

Looking over at Danielle, she wore her usual attire of a suit with her hair in a low ponytail. Diamond studs were on her ears and a watch, on her wrist. She looked over at Roman and their eyes met for a few seconds before she looked away again. But that's all it took. Just one look for him to see that she was the perfect kind of mixture. A good girl with a big heart, but a story behind the eyes that showed something different from her face. The two haven't talked since the last time they saw each other, which was only about two days ago. They both wondered if they really wanted to try to work things out to try to get along.

"Good morning, Judge Aarons and ladies and gentlemen of the jury." Paul Heyman began by saying after the attorney for the shooter made his statements. "We are here today, with at least one common goal, which is for justice. Allow me to paint the scene for you all. Monday, April 20th. My client, Roman Reigns was getting ready to leave his place of work to go home for the night. After another successful day of productivity, he felt accomplished for that day. Now, my client, though he has just a handful of friends that he trusts to keep in his circle, can be the type of person to also keep to himself and stay out of trouble. Now, one might ask, how someone who prefers to stay out of trouble, can find himself in this predicament. What could he have possibly done to have this happen to him, where he was shot and had to go to the emergency room and have surgery to get the bullet out from his shoulder. Now, Mr. Smith says that a businessman will make enemies along the way to the top of the corporate ladder. While that may hold some truth, let's not forget that his client, Mr. Lloyd Farr is also a convicted felon. Yes, he has stayed out of trouble in the last two years and kudos to the young man for being able to do so and for trying to get his life back together. I commend you for that, young man."

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she looked over to see Roman's eyes quickly turn to Heyman. Danielle wondered to herself if it would be a good thing to try things out. She wasn't sure. Danielle was never one to let people in so easily into her life and into her circle. She's been able to do a good job at making sure that her trust was only given to those who have earned it, while still keeping her privacy intact and her circle, small.

"But in the state of Florida, it is illegal for someone who's been convicted of a felony to have in their possession a firearm, ammunition, or an electrical weapon." Heyman continues to say. "What had you so angry that you would risk a trip back to prison because you had possession of a firearm? Had something worse happened to my client, that would have been even graver consequences for Mr. Farr, would it not? Ladies and gentlemen, as this case continues on this morning, I would like you all to take a few things into consideration. While Mr. Farr has taken the opportunity to try to stay out of trouble and try to do good, that does not mean that you take a gun and risk someone's life. Did he really learn his lesson from the last time? Does he simply not care?"

Heyman thanked them for listening and took a seat next to Roman while Danielle took some notes. As the case continued on in its first day, Roman and his team were hoping to make it short and sweet. He normally wasn't the type of person to want to deal with things through the courts, but not only did his attacker did something that could have cost him his life, he could have done the same thing to someone else, or worse. People deserve a second chance, that was something that Roman agreed with. To him though, it didn't mean you continue to make the same mistake.

"Hey, Danielle?" The large man asked after they were let out and scheduled for another hearing in two weeks.

"Yes?" She asked, turning around to face him.

Being up close to him, she saw his eyes and admired their beauty. Seeing his clean shaved face, with nothing but his goatee and his raven black hair, pulled back into a neat bun, he looks very handsome. She didn't mind looking at him whenever she could.

"I was wondering, if you were free sometime this week to grab some lunch." He says, quietly.

Danielle thought about it for a moment. She wasn't sure if she should because of the ongoing case of the guy that she and her team were currently representing. Maybe once the case was over, she'd be more willing to. But anything can happen between now and then, and they weren't sure how long the case would last. Sensing that there may have been some hesitation, Roman quickly tried to think of something to say.

"I just thought it would be a good way for us to get to know each other." He says. "Outside of here. Outside of the office. A way for us to relax and not worry about all of this. If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"Why do you care to get to know someone like me?" She softly asks. "And don't say that it's because of my sister and your best friend."

Roman shrugged. "Maybe I just really want to get to know you. We got off on the wrong foot when we met, remember?"

"It doesn't feel like a long time ago, yet." Danielle responds, and smiled shortly after. "Maybe this weekend?"

"Sounds good." He says, nodding and with a smile of his own. Maybe this time, they could get along without wanting to muffle the sounds of their voice.

Standing in front of each other, still, they both let out a chuckle before awkwardly saying their goodbyes and walking away from each other when they got out of the courthouse. Meanwhile, Gabriella was getting ready to go to lunch when one of her friends, Mary, came into the break room. She was a nurse as well, and they had started working at the hospital around the same time. Mary had brown hair with warm brown eyes and was about the same height as her. A few light freckles were on her face, with teeth as white as could be.

"So how are you and your boyfriend doing?" Mary asked in a curious tone, and with a smile.

"We're doing really good." Gabriella replies with a big smile. "Dean is really good to me and he's different. I know there's people who say that all the time about someone, but with everything I've gone through going up and watching what my sister went through, I would always be anxious, going into a relationship with someone. I didn't want to go through all of that again, and Dean has shown me time and again that he's so different. I'm in a good place right now. Dean and I are both in a good place. What about you? You still have to tell me about that guy that you can't seem to get out of your head."

"You mean that mystery guy?" She asks. "Right now, we're just friends. I mean, I like him. He's smart and good looking and he's amazing. But I don't know."

Gabriella looked over at her friend. "What is it?"

"Sometimes I wonder what he's thinking and feeling." Mary responds.

"In general, or just about you and him?" She asks.

"Both." The brunette says after thinking for a moment. "It's like he doesn't want to always share, but when he does, I love it."

Smiling, Gabriella finally grabs her purse. "Then again, you're the type of person that likes communicating about feelings."

"That's not a bad thing." Mary says.

"It's not. But not everyone is like that." She says. "Trust me, I know."

"Danielle is different." Says Mary. "Sometimes she looks like she'll just beat someone up. She's like the Queen of privacy. Since I've met her, she's barely mentioned anything about her love life, past or present."

Gabriella laughs. "But we love her."

 **A/N: Do you think that Danielle and Roman can actually get along this time? Will it last past the next time they meet, or will they go their separate ways for good, after the case?**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

Parking his black, Tahoe, Roman stepped out of his car after turning it off. Wearing jeans, a grey short sleeve shirt and his hair in a bun, he made sure he had his keys and his wallet before closing the door. Looking around the parking lot, he wondered if Danielle was already there or if she hadn't arrived yet. He wasn't sure of what car she drove, so he didn't know what to look for. The day before, Roman had been able to find a way to get in contact with her after realizing that he didn't have her number. The two had agreed to meet at a local diner that had some pretty amazing food. It had been around for years and years and Roman had been there numerous times.

Walking inside, he sees that she wasn't there, but looked back when he heard the door behind him open. In walks Danielle with black leggings, black boots that reached her ankles and a grey shirt that reached a bit past her waist. Her hair was out and looked as if she had just washed her hair. They greeted each other and went in, to be seated by the waitress that offered them something to drink. After they asked for their drinks, they didn't take long to order. Once they had their privacy, Danielle thought of how she could ease into a conversation with him.

"So, where are you from?" She asks, playing with her straw.

"Born and raised here in Pensacola." He replies. "But I went to Georgia Tech for college. Majored in business management. What about you?"

Danielle looked up at him and he realized why. "I mean, of course, you're gonna be from the same place as Gabriella, but, you know, just wanting to...you know...get to know you..."

"New Orleans." She says with a soft smile. "But I went to Clemson University in South Carolina. Majored in Criminal Justice and then I went to law school after that at the University of South Carolina Sumter."

"Brains, I see." Roman says.

Danielle softly smiled and looked at her cup before taking a sip. "It was the one thing that I was really good at. Especially in college. What made you want to come back to Pensacola after college?"

"Well, I went to college with a football scholarship." He starts off saying. "I had intentions of going pro after I graduated, but after graduation, I didn't get drafted. I had little stints here and there with some teams, even in the CFL, but it never went anywhere. So I decided to put it aside and remain a fan.I decided to put my degree to use, and so I thought it was a good idea to come back to Florida and do so. What about you? Have you been back to Louisiana since?"

"No." She simply says. "I haven't been back in a long time. Gabriella went back last year for a few days, but I wasn't able to get the same days off, so I couldn't go with her, so yeah. I probably should, I really miss it. Who knows, maybe someday down the line, I'll go for a few days."

The waitress returned with their food and they thanked her before she left. They began to eat and Roman couldn't help but to look at her. There was something about her that just drew him to her. Yes, she was beautiful and attractive. Her eyes gave her that hint of something exotic. But that pull that Roman felt, came from something deeper and he couldn't put his finger on it.

"What is it?" Asks Danielle when she catches him staring.

"Um..." He said, not knowing what to say. "Nothing, just thinking about something. How were you growing up?"

She takes a moment before answering. "How were _you_ growing up?"

"I asked you first." Roman says.

"And I'm replying by asking you the same thing." Danielle quickly adds, before smiling. "I wasn't terrible. A bit of a smartass as I got older, though I managed to calm that down a bit. Sarcastic. Not always the best behaved. But not really much a trouble maker. I preferred to stay out of trouble. Though it wasn't always easy to stay out of it. You?"

"I like to think I was good, growing up." He answers. "Always playing sports. Drove my mother crazy, I'm sure."

As the time went on, they continued to talk as it turned into a conversation that they both enjoyed. That evening, Roman met up with his best friend, Dean and they went out for drinks and some food. They went their separate ways about two hours later and Danielle went food shopping before getting ready to meet with her sister for dinner that night.

"So tell me how your lunch went with this mystery guy, slash, client of yours." Gabriella said after they had ordered. They were at Olive Garden and were trying to spend some quality time together.

"It went better than I thought it would." Danielle said. "I'm glad that we were able to get along and not be down each other's throat's or be upset with each other. I'm also glad that we were able to not talk about anything that had to do with his case."

Gabriella looked up from her menu and at her sister. "But...?"

"I just think that him and I should wait until his case is over to keep hanging out." Says Danielle. "I just don't want it to get awkward or get in the way of his case or of what we're trying to do to help him win. What he showed me today is a different guy from the first few times we met. He seems like a nice guy. But when the case is over, him and I can keep hanging out. Until then, let's just keep it professional."

"Hey, guys!" Said a voice, that sounded familiar to the both of them.

Turning their attention to where it was coming from, they saw that it was Mary, who worked with Gabriella at the hospital. She greeted the sisters and took a seat next to Gabriella. Seeing the look on her sister's face, she sensed that she had to quickly explain.

"I invited Mary to come out with us tonight." She said to Danielle. "I know how much you like knowing ahead of time who's coming and whatnot, but I thought that it had been a while since we all hung out together. So why not take this time to do so?"

"It's fine." Danielle says with a soft smile as the waiter came to take their orders.

Her smile quickly faded as the waiter went around the table, asking what we wanted. Gabriella and her sister met with their eyes and Gabriella knew her sister well enough to know that even when her face was blank, it still told her something. This time was no exception. Though there was tension between Danielle and Mary at times, she hoped that the two would remain in good terms with each other and have more good days with each other than bad. Especially tonight, after having an argument, days earlier.

"Have you seen your boo since the last time we spoke of him?" Gabriella asked Mary.

"No, I haven't." She replied with a frown. "And he's not my boo. At least, not yet."

"Doesn't hurt to be optimistic." Danielle adds. "Who's the mystery guy?"

"It's someone." Mary simply says.

Danielle looks over at her, with a blank face and shrugs. "That's fine, don't tell me."

"Girls, look, tomorrow we should go have a full day or fun." Gabriella says, quickly changing the subject. "Shopping and what not."

"Sounds good. What about you, Danielle?" Mary asks.

"It's okay, I'm just going to relax tomorrow and take it easy." She replies. "I have a busy week coming up."

Gabriella gives her a small pout. "But that's going to turn into a busy few weeks. Once you're busy, it's hard to get in any time with you."

"You know I always make time for you, Gabby." Danielle says.

"Because you love me." She says in a matter-of-fact tone.

Danielle finally smiled but knew that her sister was right. It was hard to get Danielle to give herself a break once she got going with work. It's how she's always been, even with school. Sometimes she may have taken more than she could handle, but that never stopped her from continuing it.

 ** _Two weeks later..._**

Roman had stepped out for a few minutes to grab something for lunch and quickly go back to his office. It was one of those days, where even though he managed to step out on a packed day of work, he preferred to eat his lunch in his office to continue working. He had his hair up in a neat bun, with his suit on, minus the jacket that he had left back in his office. Getting to one of his favorite spots, he ordered the usual of a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise with a bottle of water.

While on line to pay, he heard a familiar voice behind him and turned around saw Mary. She worked in the hospital nearby and Roman had come to know her through his best friend's girlfriend. In her scrubs and her hair up in a ponytail, he could tell that she was on lunch as well.

"Hey, how are you?" Roman asks.

"I'm good and you?" She replies.

He moves up to pay, and tells her that he's good as well. Mary went to the next register and paid for her food as well. She sees him getting ready to leave and tries to make conversation with him.

"You're not staying?" She asks.

"No, I have a lot of work to do." Roman replies. "It's a busy week for me."

Mary gives him a small smile and shrugs. "You're like my friend's sister. Always busy with work."

"It doesn't hurt to be busy with work." He says. "Her and I have something in common, though."

Looking at his watch, he gets ready to head out. Saying his goodbyes, he leaves and heads out to his car. Thinking about what she had said, Roman realized that she may have been talking about Danielle. Unless there was another friend of hers who had a sister. He started thinking about the woman who he wanted to know more about as he drove back to work. Danielle had told him last week that they should wait until after the case for anything further. That she wanted to remain professional as long as the case was ongoing.

He didn't blame her for wanting that. Roman just wanted to go deeper with her. There was something about Danielle that made him want more. He wanted to know why she seemed so private and why she managed to seem so quick to change the topic when they seemed to get to something that may have been on the more personal side. What made her tough? Hard? With his case almost getting close to ending, Roman was hoping to get to the ending. It would mean another chance and continuing what he and Danielle had started.


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

"What are we looking at here?" Asked Roman as he met with his attorney's, Danielle and Paul.

For some reason, the defense had been dragging the case, for longer than it should have. Paul had been letting Danielle take more control in the case and she was doing him proud, by doing the amazing work that she had been doing so far in representing Roman.

"Yes, he's been able to stay out of trouble for as long as he has since the last time he got in trouble with the law. But because he's a convicted felon who was in possession of a gun, he can get a mandatory 3 years. Minimum." Danielle tells him. "Because of what he did, it might add more time to his sentence. I understand that he's been trying to turn his life around, but that doesn't mean that he does what he did, and expect to not get in trouble. Maybe after this, he'll do better at staying out of trouble."

"Have you ever thought about the possibility of them wanting to do something in retaliation for getting them in jail or anything?" Roman asks them, more so towards Danielle.

"It hasn't crossed my mind much." Paul says. "But I've heard stories about it happening."

Looking over at Danielle, she finally looks up and her eyes meet those of the man sitting across from her. Something connected between them in that moment. "I've heard stories about it happening. I've uh...put some thought to it. Not a lot. But enough to make me try to be careful, while still doing my job. Like what if one day, I get a case where I end up getting the person sent to jail, what would happen."

"Does it scare you?" He asks.

"Not yet." She softly says, after thinking about it. "Maybe someday it will. Until then, I'll just focus on my career, rather than someone coming after me for locking them up."

Heyman looks between them and smiles. He noticed the connection and wondered how long until they did as well.

"Are you wanting him to get more time?" Heyman asked, to focus back on the case.

"No, I guess if the 3 years are mandatory, then it should be enough." Roman says, clearing his throat and paying attention again. "I'm not looking for him to be in jail for years upon years. I just want him to learn from his mistakes. Not to keep getting himself into trouble. I'm not the type of person to wish bad on anyone."

"We have to keep showing that." Paul says.

"We've been showing that, enough, haven't we?" Danielle asks. "We get it. They don't want to lose, we don't either. But there's nothing really left to show."

They knew that they would have to try to take a bit more control and end the case with their closing statements. Working together to see what would be best to move forward with next, they came up with a plan that could help them close their case, strongly. Afterwards, Danielle was getting her things together while Roman looked through his phone and when Paul left the room, they noticed that they were the only ones left. Looking through some of his messages, he knew that he had to get back to work because of a meeting that he had. Roman also wanted to try to finish up a few things as well that he wanted to try to finish before the weekend.

"Hey, I was thinking." He started off saying. "Dean and Gabriella want to hang out on Saturday, maybe for dinner. Gabriella said she would ask you, but I wanted to know if you would like to go."

"Roman." She softly says.

He looks up at her and sees conflict in her eyes. "I know that you said that we should wait until the case is over to keep getting to know each other and hang out, and to keep it professional with each other until then. I get it, and I understand why. That doesn't mean that we can't be around each other when your sister and my best friend, want to hang out with us."

Danielle looked up at the large man that was now standing in front of her. "This will be your way of getting to know me."

"Is that a bad thing? Me wanting to get to know you?" He asks, with seriousness in his voice. It was as if she was holding back from him. As if she had a wall put up that she had already made up in her mind, that she wouldn't ever let down with him.

"I never said that was a bad thing, Roman." Danielle tells him. "I just wanted to wait until this was all over. Nobody said that waiting was a bad thing either."

"It's okay." He says. "Don't worry about it."

Danielle lets out a sharp breath and looks down. She looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it and started walking away. Roman watched as the woman dressed in a white button down shirt that was neatly tucked in to a pencil skirt, walked away. The heels that she wore, helped to show her tones legs, with her long hair, going down her back. Eyes lingering on the curves of her body, he thought to himself and let out a sigh. What a time to have met someone like her.

Getting to her office, she picked up her cell phone and texted her sister, to tell her who the guy was that she had been mentioned a few times before and mentioned what had just happened. Gabriella replied back, saying that he doesn't have to come if Danielle didn't want him around, but she said that he could. In Danielle's mind though, she wasn't sure if _she_ would.

The week came and went by slowly, as if was crawling. The weekend finally came and it was, a lot of times, Danielle's favorite part of the week. It meant, she got to sleep in and rest, especially after a busy week. She didn't have to worry about anything work related until she had to go back, and sometimes she liked it like that. While she did little things around her condo before going out for a drive, Roman was at the park with Dean.

"How are things with you and Gabriella?" Roman asks.

"Things are going great." Dean says with a smile. "I couldn't ask for a better person to be dating. She's amazing."

Roman smiles at his friend. He was happy for the guy, because Dean had finally found someone who made him happy. Someone bought light into his life and made things better. But Gabriella was also the kind of person to not put up with anyone's crap, either.

"I'm happy for you, man. Keep a hold on that." He says.

"I will. What about you though?" Dean asks. "When are you going to find that special someone?"

The large man lets out a sigh as they walk around. "I don't know, man. Sometimes I feel like I don't have enough time to be having a girlfriend. I'm always busy with work, you know? Not a lot of people want to put up with that, nowadays."

"You choose to not make a lot of time." His friend, says.

"Who wants to deal with my ass?" He asks. "Besides, when I find the right one, I'll make sure I make more than enough time for her."

Seeing a familiar figure in the distance, Dean nudged Roman with his elbow to get his attention. When Roman looked, he saw Danielle in the distance, climbing on top of a large rock. He found himself walking towards her and didn't really realize until he was almost at the rock that she was now standing on top of.

"Hey." He says, loud enough for her to hear.

She looks down and sees who's there, before looking back up. "Hey. Hi, Dean."

"Hey, Dani." The man says with a smile. "How you been?"

"Good and you?" She asks with a smile.

They held a conversation with each other for a few minutes before Roman climbed his way up to the top of the rock and stood next to her.

"What do I have to for you to give me a chance to get to know you?" He asks the woman standing next to her.

"Why do you want to so bad?" Danielle asks, now looking at him. "You shouldn't want to get to know people like me."

Roman looks at her and into her eyes. Those eyes where one was blue and the other, like honey. "People like you?"

"You don't want to get to know someone like me." She says. "I can be difficult and the memories of my passed creep up and my past...it's messed me up in ways that you can't even imagine. You don't want to deal with that. You shouldn't have to, because when the memories of my past creeps up on me, like it has numerous times, I feel like I'm at my worst. My darkest hours. You don't want to deal with that. What do you want from me, so bad?"

"Because I see something in you that I don't see in anyone else." He tells her.

"And what the hell is that?" She spits out.

Giving her a smile, he shrugs. "A fire that still burns and maybe a heart that won't let it burn out."

"You're the first person to say that to me in a long time." She says.

Danielle lets out a chuckle and jumps off the rock, landing gracefully on her feet. Walking away, a part of her hoped that he would be willing to put up with someone like her. But she wasn't going to let her hopes up too quickly. Not this time.

 ** _Later that night..._**

"Dani!" Gabriella exclaimed when she saw her sister come out of her car.

"Gabby!" She says with a big smile as they share a hug.

Their arms hook with each other's as they walk to doors of the restaurant. Dean was already there with his best friend, and they were in their own conversation as the sisters walked towards them. Danielle and Dean had greeted each other, before she got to Roman. They shared a look before finally greeting each other. They all went in and the two were stuck having to sit next to each other. Once everyone had ordered what they wanted, Gabriella was showing her boyfriend something on her phone, leaving Roman and Danielle to fend for themselves with each other.

"I'm sorry." Danielle softly says.

"For what?" He asks.

She takes a moment before replying. "For being difficult and maybe even shutting you out in a way. I know it's probably made me look less than nice and that wasn't my intention."

"Do you really want us to try to work it out, so that we can be on good terms with each other?" Roman asks as the waiter brings their food and they thank him before he leaves.

"I do. Not just for my sister, but it doesn't hurt to meet new people." She says. "Look, I don't want to make excuses for why I am the way that I am, so I won't. But promise me this, that you won't run away when you find out the darkest parts of me. Show me that you'll be one of the very few people who will stick around and with good intentions. I'm a lot easier to deal with than this, trust me."

Roman laughs softly before taking a bite of his food. "You need to give me a chance, Danielle. You need to let me in and not push me away."

She gives him a smile and ate her food. "What a roller coaster and it's only been a few weeks."

He found humor in it, but agreed. "Have you always liked Camaro's because that's a really nice car, you have."

"I love it. It's beautiful." Danielle says.

They manage to get through dinner on a good note as they make small talk and enjoy with Dean and Gabriella. The two were relieved that Roman and Danielle managed to not be down each other's throats or itching to get away from each other, though they wondered how long it would last before they were at it again.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

 ** _One month later..._**

The case was now successfully over and Roman breathed easy knowing that he can now, officially, move on from the whole thing. The guy that had shot him was given the mandatory three years that his attorneys had mentioned that he would have mostly likely been given, because of his previous trouble with the law. He was then given another year for the shooting itself, bringing the total sentencing time to four years, plus another year of probation and community service. Roman just hoped that he didn't have to go through this again because of all of the headaches that came with it.

Parking his car, Roman made his way to the supermarket to buy some food. It had been a long and stressful day at work and he just wanted to relax. He knew that he would probably end up eating out or picking up something to take home, but he wanted to get this out of the way to not have to worry about it over the weekend. Walking in, he sees Danielle checking something on her phone before continuing with her shopping cart. He saw as she made her way to where the grapes were and he took it as a chance to talk to her since he was going to start there anyways, to get some apples.

"Nice to see you here." He says when he gets close enough to have her hear him.

Danielle looks and smiles when she sees him. "Hey, how are you?"

"Good and you?" He asks.

"I'm good." She tells him. "Rough day?"

Roman nods and grabs a bag as he looks at some apples. "What are you doing after this?"

"I don't have anything planned. I was just going to grab something to eat and then go home." Danielle replies. "Why?"

"I was thinking, maybe we can grab something to eat, together." He suggests. "Only if you want to, I mean."

She puts a bag of grapes into her cart and looks over at him. "You don't have anything up your sleeve, do you?"

"Nope. Nothing at all." Roman says. "Just a bite to eat. Nothing more."

"I'll let you know when I'm finished." Says Danielle before moving on.

The two continued on throughout the supermarket, occasionally meeting each other in the same aisle. They would always stole glances as they walked near each other and Roman would find himself looking for her when he was ready to check everything out. Fifteen minutes later, and they made their way towards each other.

"I know of this pizza place, nearby." Roman says, catching the scent of strawberries. "It's really good. I don't know if you've been there before or not, but if you'd like, we could go there."

"I think I might know the place." Danielle says. "I'll follow you anyways, just in case."

He gives her a smile and agrees before watching her walk to her car. Roman does the same and in about, less than twenty minutes, they're in Joe's Pizzeria. Parking their cars nearby, they got out and made their way in.

"I don't want to make it seem like I'm wanting to be funny or insensitive or anything, but how did your eyes get like that, if you don't mind me asking? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Roman says after they sat down and had their drinks.

"So there is a name for what I have and it's Heterochromia. There are three different types of it." Danielle softly says. "Complete, partial and central. In my case, I have complete heterochromia which is when one iris is a completely different color from the other. It usually happens because of genetics, injury, genetic mutation, disease, trauma around the time of birth. Stuff like that."

Someone called out their order and so Roman went to get their pizzas and two beef patties, along with some napkins. He took his seat and took a bite out of his pepperoni pizza while Danielle did the same.

"How did yours get like that?" He asks.

"Genetics. My mom has it." She replies. "Why Gabriella didn't get it, I don't know. But she's lucky that she didn't."

Roman looks up at her. "Why? It makes you, unique and different. That could be a good thing."

"I got made of fun a lot because of it." Danielle says, quietly. "Growing up, once kids noticed, they'd make fun of me and think that something was wrong with me. They made it seem like I was a freak and it made me an outcast sometimes. As I got older, a lot of people thought that it was because I was wearing contacts. It made it hard for me to really enjoy something that made me different."

"I'm sorry." He softly says.

Se gives a soft smile and shakes her head. "Its not your fault. Kids these days, can be cruel. What's the one place that you want to go to?"

"There are countries in Europe that I still haven't been to, that I would love to go to." Roman replies. "There is just something about the cultures, the landscapes and the architecture, that I just love. What about you?"

"There's too many places and continents to choose from." Danielle says. "I've never been out of the country. The only vacation I ever had growing up, was when we had vacation from school. We never went anywhere, unless it was to live somewhere else."

Roman took a sip of his soda and looked up at Danielle. "How come?"

"We never had a lot of money, so there were a lot of things that we were never able to afford." She quietly replies as she looks down, not wanting to see the look on his face. "Money was really tight. It's hard to do stuff when you can't afford it."

Not wanting to push her to say more than what she might be willing to, Roman decided to try to change the topic to something else. They spent the rest of their time, laughing and joking around, even as they made their way back to their cars.

"Thanks for tonight." Danielle says. "It's been a while since I really laughed liked that."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Even if it was with me." Roman says.

She smiles as she looks up at him. "You're not a horrible person, you know. There's actually good in you."

"Oh, you think I'm good, huh?" He teases.

"Don't push it, big guy." Danielle replies, poking him in the chest.

Roman chuckles and smiles at her. "Thank you, though. For the first time in a while, I felt relaxed. And we got to know a bit more about each other in the process. Maybe we can do this more often?"

"Do what, exactly?" She curiously asks.

"Spend more time together." He softly asks.

He catches her eyes and takes them in. Despite her experience with being made fun of because of them, he enjoyed her eyes. It was a reminder to him of how different she was and how so far, it's been a really good thing.

"We should do that." Says Danielle.

"Cool." He awkwardly said before they both laughed. "Goodnight, Danielle."

She smiles at him. "Goodnight, Roman."

As Danielle turns to begin making her way to her car, Roman's voice stops her when he calls her name. Turning around, she looks over at him.

"I like your eyes, they're beautiful. Don't feel like you have to ever hide them when you're with me." He tells her.

Danielle gives him a smile that he won't forget. It was the sweetest smile Roman had seen in a long time and it lit up her face. That smile did it for him. It's what reeled him in completely and made him want more of her. Seeing the life that her eyes held with that smile, Roman knew that he wanted to keep seeing that for a very long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far and to those who have put this story on their favorites and alerts list! It means a lot and I truly appreciate it!**

 **DISCLAIMER** : **I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

The sisters has just finished their brunch with Mary, where Gabriella had invited her to hang out with them and the guys later that night.

"Have you found out who this mystery guy of hers is?" Asked Danielle as her and Gabriella made their way to the library.

"Nope. She hasn't told me a name." She replies. "I just know that he lives here in Florida and he seems like a good guy from what she's mentioned. Mary seems to really like him, though."

When Danielle didn't say anything, Gabriella looked over at her. They got to the library and found parking a few minutes later. Before getting out of the car, she turned to her sister as she grabbed her bag.

"Look, I know that sometimes you don't care for her. But thank you for trying to be nice and for trying to take her in." Gabriella tells her. "It means a lot to me that you're putting in the effort to do it, especially with tonight with having her hang out with us. It's been a while since she's hung out with all four of us."

"I know you care about her and she's been really good to you." Danielle says. "Besides, she hasn't gotten much of a chance to because Roman and I hated each other when we first met, remember? And then we had his case that we had to finish."

Gabriella smiles as they get out of the car. "Now the two of you are very friendly with each other which Dean and I appreciate to the fullest because the two of you are very important to us."

"Yeah, yeah." Danielle says, getting her sister to laugh.

Once they were in the library, Gabriella went to go look for some books, and while Danielle loved to read, she seemed to be on her phone more than usual today. It didn't go unnoticed as her sister caught on to it. She also noticed how Danielle would give a smile every time she looked at her phone.

"So what's keeping you attached to your phone today? Asks Gabriella.

"It's nothing." Danielle says.

The youngest of the two pouts and tries to get her sister to talk. Danielle lets out a big sigh and rolls her eyes. Gabriella smiles and quickly hides it as she walks up to her and rests her chin on Danielle's shoulder. Pouting, she wraps her arms around Danielle's waist and holds on to her.

"You know what..." Danielle quietly says. Giggling, Gabriella lets her go and hears her sister laugh. When Danielle looks down at her phone again, she shows Gabriella that she had gotten a text from Roman.

"I didn't know that you two got along _that_ well." She says.

Danielle tries to hide back a smile. "Just be happy that we're getting along. We've come a long way since we've met, don't you think?"

"Obviously." Gabriella says

 ** _Later that night..._**

Parking outside of the large house that she had just arrived in, at the gated community that she had entered a few minutes ago, Danielle looked in awe at the house that stood in front of her. A two story house made of bricks and two garages connected to the house. Getting out of her Camaro, she saw Dean's car and figured that her sister probably came with him since her car wasn't there, and she closed her door. There was a walkway leading from where the cars were parked to the front door, with neatly trimmed grass on each side of the walkway.

She saw stairs leading up to the large, mahogany door with small windows above the door. A mat rested on the floor and so she quickly wiped her feet before ringing the doorbell that was lit up. Hearing the door, Danielle quickly fixed her hair and made sure that her dress was straightened out before it opened to show Roman on the other side. He wore a white shirt with jeans and his hair, up in a neat bun and had shaved.

"Hey." Danielle says with a small smile.

"Hey." He says, with a smile of his own a she looked at the woman standing in front of him.

She was wearing a blue dress with spaghetti straps, that reached her knees with sandles and her hair in waves, down her back. To Danielle, it was simple, but to Roman, she looked beautiful. She didn't know why she cared about what he thought of her choice of style tonight, as she was one who normally dressed however she wanted. But somehow, it mattered to her, tonight.

"Come in." Says Roman, stepping aside to let her in.

Danielle walks into the foyer and looks around as she does. There was a small seat to one side with a small closet on the other. High ceilings, with lights and walls filled with pictures. As she walked across the tile floors, she saw stairs that were almost a spiral design, lead upstairs to what she assumed were the bedrooms. The living room seemed to hold the majority of the entertainment with a large flat screen television that was on, speakers that were on each side of it, and what seemed like a radio nearby. There was a small table in front of the couch and sofa set that was there and it was where she saw her sister and her boyfriend, who also happened to be Roman's best friend. Not to far away was Mary who was wearing something similar to her and she heard herself gasp when she realized it. Greeting everyone, she stood nearby, as if figuring out what to do.

"I'm glad you made it, tonight." Roman says when he walks up to her.

"Me too." Danielle says to the man standing in front of her.

Their eyes lock and they both smile as they look away. Her eyes sparkled and he was quick to notice. The blue in her dress made her eyes stand out more than usual. He wasn't sure why he was looking forward to seeing her tonight, and why it mattered to him if she came around or not. They knew that they had been getting along great, but they didn't realize that they were already at the stage where it mattered to them what the other did and thought.

Mary takes notice of how Roman and Danielle looked at each other and didn't like it so much. She knew that they might know each other because of Gabriella and Dean, but she didn't realize that they would have the connection that they obviously had. There seemed to be sparks and the way he smiled at her was different than when he did it with her.

"So, I see that we're twinning tonight." Mary says to Danielle when she walks up to them, in an effort to get Roman's attention back on her. "Great minds think alike, I see."

"I guess." Danielle softly says, looking down at her dress before looking at Mary's, quickly regretting her choice of fashion for the night.

Roman's eyes turned to the woman standing in front of her and drank her in. The way her dress fit to her body and curves, perfectly and how the diamond studs in her ears, sparkled. Danielle saw how Mary looked at the man standing in front of them and looked away, not noticing the look in his eyes as his attention stayed on her. Sensing the discomfort from her sister, Gabrielle walked up to them and hooked her arm through Danielle's.

"You look really pretty." She says, making Danielle smile.

Seeing her smile that sweet smile of hers, Roman wondered how he could get her to smile like that, every time she was around him. Danielle had quickly went with her sister and they sat with Dean as they started talking. He looked over at Mary who was still standing next to him and he found himself having to force a smile with her.

"You okay?" He asks her.

"I'm good." Mary replies with a smile.

Roman nods and heads over to the other three, to join in the conversation, leaving Mary standing where she was. About fifteen minutes later, Roman managed to get Danielle's attention and they went into the kitchen. It was a kitchen that seemed to be the dream kitchen of a chef. Top of the line stainless steel stove, with two ovens. A stainless steel fridge with the freezer on the bottom. Mahogany cabinets that held plates and cups. A sink that turned on and off with just a simple touch. An island in the middle of the kitchen with chairs surrounding it. A dining table wasn't too far from it with enough chairs to fit the five of them.

"This place is amazing so far." Danielle says, turning her attention back to Roman, who she caught already looking at her. Her face felt warm as she looked down.

"Thanks." He says with a soft smile. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, thank you." She replies. "You must have worked hard to get all of this."

Roman nods. "I have. It hasn't been easy, but it takes hard work to get all of this. Unless you're already born with the money to afford it."

"I never had this, growing up." Says Danielle as she takes a seat on one of the chairs. "Any of this. I would see these big luxurious houses on television or if I passed through one of these fancy neighborhoods and communities, and I would wonder what I had to do to get this. I thought my condo was really nice, but this...this is amazing and I haven't even finished seeing the rest of the house."

"You want a big house, like this?" Roman asks.

She thought for a moment. "Someday."

Danielle moved some of her hair off from her shoulders, showing the tattoo that rested on the right side. With black lettering, it was neatly written in script and small enough to fit her shoulder. Roman tried to not let his eyes wander, but he couldn't resist as they went down to her collarbone and drank her in again as they went back up to her eyes. A shade of pink colored her cheeks and he smiled to himself.

"What does your tattoo say?" He asks, curiously as he takes a seat next to her.

" _La vie est belle."_ She fluently says. "Life is beautiful."

Roman agreed that it can be and they started talking about his tattoo and then siblings. "I'm the youngest of four. I have two sisters and an older brother who passed away back in April."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Danielle softly says, gently placing her hand on his forearm.

"It's okay." He quietly tells her as they both felt the electricity flowing between them, with a simple touch. "It was unexpected, but it bought us a lot closer than what we already were. What about you, though?"

Danielle shrugs. "It's just me and Gabby. We never had any other siblings and with us being so close in age, we got very close."

"What's your heritage?" Roman asks. "I know you're from New Orleans, and you and Gabby have that accent."

"Well, I'm French, Spaniard, and Native American." Danielle replies. "But it may fall under Creole. Or Louisiana Creole. You?"

"See that sounds much more interesting than Italian and Samoan." He says.

She laughs, causing him to chuckle and smile at the sound of her laugh. It was something that he wanted to hear for a long while.

"There you are." Mary says, coming into the kitchen seeing Roman and Danielle, sitting together. "We're going to start going now for dinner."

"Okay. Would you like to come in my car? You can have shotgun." He suggests to Danielle with a grin.

"Sounds very exciting." She says before they laugh again. "But I would like that."

Mary's heart dropped into her stomach. "I was hoping we could go together in the same car."

"My car is big enough to fit all of us." He tells her.

"That's true." She says. But deep down, she wanted it to be just her and Roman in the same car. She wondered about what she had to do to get his attention like Danielle was.

Gabriella ended up going with Dean in his car and Mary went with Danielle and Roman. Once they got to dinner, they enjoyed the food and the conversation on the various topics. They all joked around and laughed, and even though Mary knew that they involved her in all of it, she couldn't help but feel left out. They had Dean and Gabriella, and while she had feelings for Roman, his attention was on Danielle, for the majority of the night.

At the end of it all, Dean and Gabriella decided to call it a night and head home, while Roman agreed to drive Mary and Danielle back to his house for them to get their cars. Once they pulled into his driveway, Mary quickly said goodnight and got out of the car, leaving the other two by themselves.

"That was kind of awkward." Roman mumbles.

"She's been trying to get your attention all night." Danielle tells him.

He looks over at her and remembers that they both wore similar dresses. "She's never really been like that before tonight. I mean, if we bump into each other somewhere, we might have small talk here and there, but that's about as far as I ever take it with her."

"I don't know." She says with a shrug.

Opening her door, Danielle steps out of the car and closes the door before making her way over to her own car. Getting into her car after quickly finding her car keys, Roman turned off his car and locked it when he got out. The roar of Danielle's Camaro as it turned on, made him make his decision. She put down the windows and Roman walked up to the car, resting his forearms on her car as he looked in, from the passenger side.

"Let's go somewhere." Roman says.

"Where?" She asks.

He thinks for a moment before answering. "A place where we can have fun. A late night adventure, so to say."

A wicked smile plays across her lips. "You think we can go to Panama City?"

"At this time?" Roman asks.

"You said an adventure, though and we can definitely try to make an adventure out of that. We didn't say that we can't have a good time. Maybe a detour or two."

He shows her that wicked grin of his and nods. He opens the trunk to his car and takes out a small bag, before asking Danielle if he could put it in her trunk. She curiously looked at him and opened it, watching him through her mirrors. In her trunk, he saw a small bag and thought that they probably think alike. Closing it, he gets into her car on the passenger side and closes the door as she plugs in her phone to charge.

"Doesn't hurt having a spare bag every now and then." He tells her.

"That's what I always believe" She says. "So are you ready?"

"Absolutely." He answers.

A mischievous look filled her eyes before she put up the windows and turned on the air conditioner in the car. Putting the car in reverse, she back up out of the drive way and put the car in drive and off they were. Turning on the radio, music filled the car and it wasn't long before Danielle was singing along. Roman smiled and enjoyed the drive, the music and the woman sitting next to him.

 ** _Two and a half hours later..._**

"We made it." Roman says as they find parking. There wasn't a lot of movement except for those who were probably going to party at nearby clubs and bars and those who were still walking around after dinner. They found a nice little ice cream shop and made their way in.

Danielle closed her eyes as she took in the scent of the shop. There were a few tables that were empty so Danielle sat down at one of them while Roman ordered. He walked up to her with both of their ice cream cones and sat down. She enjoyed her vanilla and chocolate ice cream while he enjoyed his chocolate ice cream.

"You know, you still haven't told me about how it was for you growing up." Roman mentioned, remembering earlier in the night when he and Dean had talked about their childhood during dinner. He noticed that her and Gabriella remained quiet about theirs.

"It was nothing fancy." Danielle says, taking a while before saying anything more. "My parents were aspiring musicians, but they struggled. My dad had a successful stint as a guitarist but his addictions had cost him to lose all of that. He had burned a lot of bridges along the way and it cost him dearly. My mom had an amazing voice but it was hard for her to get noticed. After a while, she gave up her aspirations of becoming a singer, to support my dad. They didn't have a lot of money and when me and Gabby came along, it made money a lot tighter. We moved around a lot, growing up. We never stayed in one place for too long."

"Did you find it easier to deal with as you got older?" He asks.

"Yes and no." Danielle says. "Yes because I got used to it, but no because it got harder to make friends. We never knew when we were going to move or to where. We moved to Tennessee when I was about 14 and the moving around just continued. Trailer parks, cars, one bedroom apartments, just low income areas. My parents just couldn't get a break. In 18 years, that was nine different schools and five different school districts. There was a lot of bad memories in between all of that. Memories that made it harder to deal with it."

Danielle just wanted to be happy and she's been making sure that she gets there. Seeing the sadness in her eyes, hr also noticed how light her blue eye had gotten. She quickly tried to hide it when she realized that his eyes were still on her. He wanted to see Danielle smile and he was going to make sure that he did.

"Let's go for a walk." He softly says, helping her up and placing a hand on the small of her back as she walks slightly ahead of him. Feeling the electricity between them again as his hand lingered on her, Danielle's face grew warm.

As they walked around and heard some music, it somehow reminded Danielle of the pier. Getting Roman's attention, he followed her lead until he realized where they were going. Catching up to her, he walked beside her and followed her onto to the pier.

"Want to try something?" Danielle asked.

"Try what?" He curiously asked her.

She walked up to the railings and carefully stepped up into the bottom one, whole holding on to the others. Roman quickly walked up behind her, and held out his arms as if to catch her if she were to fall back.

"Danielle, what are you doing?" He asks her.

"I just wanted to do this." She tells him.

Gaining enough balance, she spread out her arms and closed her eyes. Taking in the smell of the ocean, and the sound of the endless waves crashing back into the water, she let out a small smile. She then felt a pair of strong hands on her waist and heard a soft chuckle behind her. Looking down, her eyes met Roman's and her stomach fluttered at the way he looked at her. Danielle couldn't quite describe it, but it made her feel something that she hasn't felt in a long time.

"I'm not going to let you fall." He softly tells her.

Smiling again, she closes her eyes and spreads her arms once more. A few minutes later, she let out a few giggles as Roman helps her down. Looking at the time, Danielle looks up at him and sees him smiling at her as his hands rest in his pockets. The way his muscles showed through his shirt, the piece of hair that was now out of place from his bun, the sound of his voice, she liked all of it. She didn't know where it came from, but what she did know was just how much she liked it.

"We should start going back." She softly says.

"Does it have to be over?" He asks her.

Danielle shrugs. "We could always make a detour along the way. Or two. Or three."

Chuckling, he starts walking. "I still have some energy left so why not?"

She showed him a grin as they made their way to her car. He would occasionally let her walk ahead of him so that he could steal some glances, though looked away when she waited for him to catch up. They quietly wondered if this would be the start to many more adventures for the two of them in the future and if it would be with each other.


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

It was eight at night, but it was still as hot and humid as it was during the day, in Pensacola. Roman was having dinner at his house, when Dean called on FaceTime. The last few weekends had been filled with adventure, and all of them included her and Roman. During the day, Gabriella and Dean were with them while Roman and Danielle continued their adventures as night. Most of the time, they just sat and talked for hours.

"Well, look who it is." Dean says when Roman answered. "If it isn't the man missing in action, himself."

"You see almost everyday at work." Roman says with a smile. "And on weekends."

They laugh for a bit before they start talking about one of their favorite shows. The subject then turns to a topic that a part of Roman didn't mind talking about.

"So you and Danielle. What's going on there?" Asks Dean.

"We're just friends." Roman says as he eats a piece of his grilled chicken. Just having come from the gym not too long ago, he, also liked being healthy and staying in shape.

"You two have been spending a lot of time together." Dean adds. "There's nothing wrong with that, I was just wondering how that was going."

The man with the raven black hair, smiled at the thought of Danielle. "She's amazing. Danielle is smart and beautiful. She's easy to talk to and it's so easy to be myself around her. I don't have to try to be anything other than myself when I'm with her and I like that. Nothing has to be forced. Maybe when we first started trying to get along, it may have felt like that every now and then because we just couldn't get it together. But now? It's...I can't describe it the way I have it in my head. Once I started getting to know her, I saw a side of her that makes her lovable and great to be around. Danielle is funny but she can also be serious and she's a good listener."

"You're going to go all night about her if you have the chance to." Dean says and his best friend gives a small smile as he eats the last of his food. "But you like her as more than a friend. I know you well enough to know when you like someone."

Roman tried to think of something to counter it, but he couldn't. He knew he couldn't because he knew that there was a part of him that is feeling something for Danielle and he couldn't deny it every time he was with her. There was something there between them that he couldn't resist or ignore.

"Yeah, well, what can I do?" Roman asks, as he goes to clean his plate after finishing his dinner.

"How about you ask her out?" Dean asks in a suggestive tone. "Or better yet, since you, me and Gabriella are going together on vacation to Europe, how about you ask her to come with us?"

Roman thinks about it. "Ask her to come to Europe with us?"

"Yeah, why not?" Dean replies. "It would be cool to have the four of us together in Europe and you know very well that if you don't ask, Gabriella will. Besides, it gives you a chance to spend more time with her without any distractions and in a beautiful continent."

"I'll talk to her later tonight." Roman says out loud.

He definitely wanted to see more of her and knowing that they were going on vacation for two weeks, Roman didn't see it as a bad thing to see her everyday instead of just two or three days out of the week. Besides, he knew that Danielle was single, but he also saw the looks that other guys gave her when she walked by, especially whenever they were all at the beach. She's a beautiful woman and there was no denying that. He just wanted to be the one that got to have her.

Two weeks later, Danielle was spending some time with her sister as they walked through the mall. Roman had asked her if she wanted to go with them on vacation with them to Europe. Danielle thought about it for a moment before saying 'yes'. She thought that it would be a really good experience, especially when she's never had the opportunity to go outside of the country for vacation.

"I wonder what Spain is like." Gabriella says as they look for some sandles to take with them on vacation.

"I don't know, but I'm just ready to have a good time." Danielle replies. "Like this is our first time ever leaving the country and it's to Europe. You know how much I've wanted to have the chance to do something like that?"

Gabriella smiles and squeals in excitement. "This is so cool! We have to take tons of pictures while we're there and do everything that we can possibly do before coming back. And maybe we can go on dates and stuff."

"You mean you and Dean can go out on dates." She replies.

"I mean all of us. Including you and Roman." Gabriella says.

Danielle shrugs and looks around. "I don't know."

"Come on, Dani." She says, walking beside her. "I know you don't like to open your heart so easily to people. But I also know you well enough to know that you would love to have that one day. Someone who loves and cares for you, and who'll protect you and take care of you."

"I can take care of myself." Danielle softly says. "We've been taking care of ourselves since before we graduated high school. I don't need someone else doing it for me."

Gabriella let's out a sigh, but she understood what her sister was saying. For years, they have had to take responsibilities for themselves, knowing that their parents barely could.

"That doesn't mean that it isn't nice for someone else to do it." Says Gabriella. "Besides, that leads me to something that I wanted to ask you. Would you ever talk to mom again?"

"Probably not." Danielle replies as they walk out of the store. "Why? Would you?"

"I may have already done it." She quietly says.

Danielle stops walking and looks at her sister. "You have? When was this?"

"A few weeks ago." Gabriella says. "Mom found a way to get in contact with me and at first, I didn't want anything to do with her, but after hearing her out and thinking about it, I decided to give her another chance. I've forgiven her a long time ago, Dani for everything that happened. I can't keep holding on to that just because of that."

"I'm not holding on to anything." She tells her. "Look, I've forgiven her and I've moved on. That's as far as it's going to go with me."

They started walking again before Gabriella spoke up again. "Mom has been asking about you. I'm sure she'd rather be hearing it from you, than from someone else."

"Well, you're my sister. So she'll have to hear it from you." Danielle tells her. "Why are you trying to get me to talk to her?"

"Because she's our mother, Dani." Says Gabriella. "Despite everything that has happened, she is still our mom. Don't you ever wonder how she's doing and what she's been up to since the last time we saw her? How good it could be to have her in our lives again?"

Danielle turns to face her sister and gets close enough so that only she could hear. Looking into her eyes, Gabriella saw the intensity in them and saw how they were filled with emotions, though she couldn't pinpoint what emotions they were.

"Whether I have, or haven't..." Danielle quietly says. "...It doesn't change how I feel. I've done a good job without her. Please don't make me go any further than that."

Turning around, she walked away, leaving her sister behind. Gabriella wasn't one to give up so easily, but she knew that Danielle would be a challenge. Always one to not push people to do something they didn't want to do, Gabriella figured that this would be the one time when she would have to because who knew how many other chances Danielle and their mother would have to be in each other's lives again.


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

Getting his bags downstairs to put them by the door, Roman made sure he had everything he needed before going on vacation to Europe. He was looking forward to going and had put in a lot of overtime during the last two weeks, to get a lot of work done before leaving. Everyone was going to meet at the airport and make their way together to the gate that their plane would depart from. He was wearing jeans with a plain white t-shirt with sneakers and his hair up in a bun.

Meanwhile, Danielle just finished making sure she had everything and was ready to go after grabbing her keys and putting it in her purse. She had a friend from college that lived nearby, that would take her and Gabriella to the airport to meet up with the guys. Danielle was excited to go on this vacation, seeing as this was going to be an experience for her that she wasn't sure would be able to have anytime soon. Dressed in jean shorts with a grey t-shirt and her hair in two french braids, she grabbed her sunglasses and her bags and headed downstairs when her friend texted her saying that she was outside. Giving her a friend a hug, she did the same to Danielle before putting her bags in the trunk of her friends suv.

Though they get manage to put their differences aside when they're around other people, the sisters had wanted to avoid each other because of their constant arguing over the past few days. The topic was always their mother and how Gabriella thought that Danielle should give her another chance and to allow her to be in her life. Danielle wasn't budging and wasn't trying to change her mind about it. She had dug her feet into the ground and wasn't going to change her answer. But to Gabriella, she thought she should still try. No matter how hard it was.

Getting to the airport, they grabbed their bags and said their goodbyes to their friend and thanked her for bringing them. Seeing Roman and Dean waiting for them, they made their way to them and greeted them. Danielle and Roman stayed in their hug a little longer than expected, before pulling away as they talked quietly with each other.

"Ready for this?" Gabriella asked Danielle as they walked beside each other, and into the airport.

"Sure." Danielle said, not saying any more than that.

Gabriella let out a sigh and kept walking beside her. They made their way to check in before going through security which felt like it took forever with the long line of people in front of them. Sensing the tension between the sisters, Dean and Roman looked at each other and shrugged.

"Apparently, they've been arguing constantly over the last few days." Dean says quietly.

"About what?" Roman asks, looking around as they walked.

"Their mom." His best friend replies.

Roman looks over at him and wondered if he heard correctly. "Their mom?"

"Gabriella told me one day about their situation with their mom and how it was with her, while they were growing up." Dean says. "Danielle, of course never spoke about her with me, even to this day. But when she's ready to tell you, just make her feel comfortable and listen."

The blonde haired, blue-eyed man walks up to his girlfriend and kisses her cheek. Danielle looks over and softly smiles before picking up her pace. Roman finds a way to catch up and sees her smile at him. She quickly looked away with a sadness in her eyes and he wasn't sure of what to say to make her feel better. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

"So, we're going to be stuck together on the flight." Roman starts off saying, because their seats would be right next to each other. "You ready to be stuck with me? It's going to be a long flight."

Danielle softly laughs. "I think I'll be okay. Besides, I can use your company."

"I'm glad that you decided on this vacation with us." He tells her. "I think I would have been miserable without you around."

"Why? You'd still be in Europe with your best friend." She replies.

Roman shrugs as they get to the shuttle that would take them to the other part of the airport that their plane would depart from. Though there were seats there, everyone decided to just wait on the line.

"I probably would have been a third wheel." He honestly says. "He has his girlfriend here and I would have been in the background. Besides, I thought it would be better if you were here. I need my partner in crime and our adventures."

"Adventures are very much needed when on vacation." Danielle says as she softly laughs. "We will have plenty of those, you and I. We're also going to be taking pictures."

He chuckles as they make their way onto the shuttle. They grab a seat next to each other and place their bags as close to them as possible. Roman looks over at the woman sitting next to him and smiles when she looks at him.

"You look nice, by the way." He says to her.

"Thanks." She replies with a sweet smile.

Leaning over, Danielle places a soft kiss on his cheek. A shade of color fills her cheeks when she pulls away, and they share a smile that only speaks to them and them alone. As if they already have their own language that nobody else understands. Roman moves a little closer to her so that they're legs and arms are touching and almost forget about everyone around them, until the shuttle stops where they are supposed to get off.

The four of them make their way to the gate that they were supposed to depart from and saw they had some time left before they would start calling for passengers. Seeing that there was still some time left, they found a place where they could grab a quick bite to eat. Sitting next to Dean after they got their food, Gabriella got to thinking again.

"You know what I think is a good idea?" She asks him, making sure that Roman and her sister didn't hear.

"What?" Dean asks, taking a bite out of his croissant.

Gabriella took a sip of her juice, before replying. "What if I get my mom to come out to Europe and meet us there? Maybe it can get her and Danielle to talk."

"You want to spoil Danielle's time with us." Dean says in a matter of fact tone.

"I do not." His girlfriend replies. "I just want them to get along. I want her to see that our mom is not like how she was when we were growing up. That she's a lot better and deserves a second chance with us."

The blue eyed man sighed and shook his head. "Your heart is in the right place, Gabby and I love that about you and it's good that you and your mom are reconnecting and patching things up. But everyone deals with things differently and that includes you and Danielle. Don't force her into trying to patch things up with her, too just because of how good things have gone between you and your mom. Let that happen naturally."

"Dean I don't want to spend the rest of my life trying to think about how Danielle is going to react about something." She tells him.

"I didn't say you had to, Gabriella." He says. "But not everybody is like you, don't you see that? Not everybody is going to see things the same way that you do and unfortunately, we live in a world where not everybody has the same heart. There are people out there in this world who are cruel. Evil. They've gone mad. They don't have a heart filled with kindness and with good intentions like you do, Gabriella."

She didn't say a thing, but he continued anyways. "Danielle can be a sweetheart and she can be one of the most kind and generous people that I've ever met. But you want to force this on her, like it's as easy for her to deal with it as it is for you. Do you know that there are times when she refrains so much from making you do things or make it seem like she's forcing you. Danielle doesn't want to lose you, so she let's you do what you want, especially if she thinks it'll make you happy, regardless of how she feels about it just so that she won't lose you. You have good intentions, Gabriella. But this isn't the time for that. When we get back home, then we'll see what happens with them. But until that time comes, let's just all enjoy our vacation together. Don't focus so much about the situation with Danielle and your mother. Let's just enjoy this time together."

 ** _The next day..._**

The flight had landed in Barcelona, Spain in the early morning hours. All four had managed to get some sleep on the plane, but were still a bit tired from the long trip. They had gotten a cab from one of the drivers that were outside the pick-up area and gave him the address to the hotel that they would be staying in. The man was slim and a bit shorter than Roman and Dean but he had light blonde hair with ocean-blue eyes. He had a strong jaw line and flawless skin.

"You are from America?" The guy asks with an accent.

"Yeah." Dean replies as his girlfriend and her sister look out the window at the view that they have. "Just on vacation here, though."

Roman looks over at Danielle as she continues to look out the window. Taking in the Spanish/European architecture and all of the colors, just made her more excited for the days to come. This was her first time outside of the United States and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

"Can we go on an adventure?" She quietly asks Roman when she looks up at him.

Catching the sparkle and excitement in her eyes, he smile at her. "We'll go on plenty of them."

"This is so cool!" She says, excitedly, before looking back out the window.

He smiles, watching her and takes in the sights around him. Dean looks over at Gabriella and smiles at her, after noticing the interaction between his best friend and the woman sitting beside him. They saw something there between them and wondered if they noticed it themselves. It was amazing to see how far they've come from when they first met. Getting to the hotel, the cab driver parked the car in front of the entrance and got out to help take their luggage out from the trunk. Because they had found a currency exchange place in one of the terminals of the airport that they landed in, they were able to exchange a good amount of their money into the currency that was used in Spain. Tipping the cab driver, they thanked him and made their way into the hotel.

The lobby had pictures of beautiful paintings, marble floors, carpets by where they had a few chairs, and cream colored walls. There was a door further up ahead, that lead to a pool and right before that door, there were the elevators to the left. Getting to the front desk, the counter was marble and the wood was a rich mahogany.

"Good evening. How can we help you?" Asked an elderly woman with an accent as she gave a warm smile. With green eyes, and long blonde hair that was beginning to go grey, she looked pretty.

"We have a reservation under Reigns." Roman said, taking out his wallet to hand her his drivers license.

The woman looked through the computer after typing in something and smiled when she looked up. "You're room is ready. You'll be on the fourth floor, in room 412. The pool is open daily, from 10 am to 10 pm, the elevators are to the left. The vending machines and ice machines are located on the second and fourth floors and checkout is at 11 am. Here is your receipt. It states everything about how much it'll all come out to."

Roman signed a few papers before they gave them the room keys. They made their way to the elevators and up to the third floor of the hotel. As the elevator doors open, they see carpets all throughout the hallway, with pictures of beautiful art pieces. Getting to their room, Dean opens the door and goes in with his bags to hold it for everyone else to go in. The cold from the air conditioner greets them as they walk in. The bathroom and the sink is off to the left with a large mirror. Inside he bathroom, there's a huge tub that had small jets in it with controls for the temperature of the water and a small step. Off to the left of it was the shower that had a sliding door that was blurred enough to give privacy. The floors were tiles and the sink counter tops were marble.

The kitchen was small but it had everything needed. A refrigerator, a stove, pots and pans, a sink and a microwave. All that was needed was the food, which they would get later after settling down. The living room had a couch an a sofa with a small table in the middle, and a flat screen television a few feet in front of it. In another area, there was a dining room table big enough for the four of them near the balcony. Pulling the curtains back, there was an amazing view of Barcelona, and they could only imagine how it would look with the sunrise and sunset in the background.

Going to the bedrooms, they saw that there were two. In one, there's a large bed with white covers and blankets and a canopy. A seat, the same length as the width of the bed, was at the foot of the bed with robes rested on it. There is a drawer a few feet in front of it and a closet to the right large enough to be a girl's dream. On the other side of the room, there was a balcony, though much smaller than the one in the living room, gave them a beautiful view. The paintings continued in that room, that helped with the beauty of the room.

In the second room, there was a large bed, with white sheets and blankets, and a canopy over it. The canopy was a rich mahogany color with white curtains that were tied to the frames with a seat and two robes. A carpet was underneath the bed and spread out a few feet from it. Mahogany colored the dresser and the frame around the mirror. A closet about the same size as the one in the first room, the same with the balcony. A small table with a chair in a corner and a lamp.

The four quickly chose their bedrooms with Dean and Gabriella choosing the first room, leaving Danielle and Roman with the second one. Realizing that they might have to share a bed, Roman tried to think of a way to make Danielle more comfortable, and hoped to have a solution by the end of the night.

Her eyes took in everything that was in front of her as she slowly made her way around the room. Getting to the balcony, she looked out from a distance and breathed in before slowly letting it back out.

"What's wrong?" Roman asks.

"This place...it's beautiful." Danielle softly says. "More than what I thought I'd ever be able to see."

Later that night, Danielle had just finished getting ready for bed when Roman walked into the room. He still hadn't addressed the whole sleeping arrangement for the two of them.

"I'll sleep over here." Roman says, walking towards the chair in the corner. Though it had plenty of cushion, he knew he would have a sore back and neck in the morning.

"Why?" Asks Danielle. "You don't want to sleep here? I won't bite."

He chuckles and smiles at her. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable with me in the same bed."

"It's okay. If I hated you, I would not mind you having a bad back from sleeping on that chair." She tells him. "Just no funny business, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Roman says with a soft smile.

They turn off the lights and as he makes his way into bed, Danielle quietly makes her way onto the balcony. He watches as she rests her hands on the railing and looks around. She had on shorts with a tank top and her hair was out and in waves, down her back. Exhausted from all those hours of traveling, Roman's eyelids became heavy with sleep until he no longer saw anything except darkness.

About three hours later, Roman woke up to see Danielle still standing outside on the balcony before looking at the time. At some point throughout the three hours, she had managed to put her hair up in a bun. Getting up from bed, he made his way over to the open doors, and heard her quietly humming before suddenly stopping.

"You don't have to stop." He says, with some sleep still in his voice.

"Roman?" She asks, quickly turning around to face him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

He shakes his head as he stands next to her. "You didn't, but you sound nice."

They share a smile and look around them. Silence fell between them before any of them said a word.

"Have you slept at all?" Roman asks her.

"No. I've been walking around the room and the living room the whole night. Spent some time in the other balcony, too." Danielle replies. "I've had some nights like this in the past, where I barely sleep. It's not the best thing, but it happens."

Danielle looks over at the man standing next to her, when he doesn't say anything. A feeling of peace washes over her as her eyes are set on him. Looking over at her, their eyes meet and the connection is there. Roman gently strokes her cheek and she slightly leans into his touch.

"You should go back to bed. I don't want to keep you from your sleep." Danielle says.

"And leave you to enjoy all of this while I'm sleeping away?" Roman asks.

She smiles at him before leaning her head back, and spreading her arms wide open as she closes her eyes. He stands behind her and rests his hands on her waist as he takes in the sights around him. Including Danielle as she puts her arms down and opens her eyes again.

"I don't deserve this." She says barely above a whisper.

"What are you talking about?" He asks her, now standing beside her once again.

Danielle shrugs. "I'm just a girl from New Orleans, who worked her ass off to become an attorney. Now I'm on vacation in Spain and I don't know what I did to deserve this."

"You worked your ass off, that's what you did." Roman tells her. "You've come so far from where you were, growing up and you deserve something good for yourself. You should be proud of yourself for that, Danielle."

Danielle was proud of herself for everything she's accomplished so far. But she wanted someone else to be proud of her, as well. That someone was her mother. Ever since she was a little girl, Danielle always wanted her parents to be proud of her. But when she barely heard those words from them, she stopped trying for them and started trying more for herself. It didn't mean that she stopped wanting to hear that from them.

"How do you not have a girlfriend?" She asks him.

"I don't know." He says with a soft chuckle. "Maybe I'm wanting to figure something out with someone."

"Well, I need to meet this someone." Danielle says with a yawn.

Roman smiles, watching her. He finds her so beautiful and attractive, from her hard work and drive, to her personality and her strength. Danielle's love for adventure, fueled the need and wanting that he had for it. But the way she loved something simple, just everything, made him have all these feelings for her that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"What if that person is you?" He asks her.

"Then you should do something about it." Danielle tells him with a matter of fact tone that made him smile.

He put his arm around her shoulder as they looked out at in front of them. A few minutes later, he managed to get her to go to bed and get some sleep. After tonight, he was definitely going to try to do something about it.


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

Walking around, Danielle and Roman were on one of their adventures. Though it was La Rmabla, which is a long boulevard in the center of Barcelona, they've passed it several times with Dean and Gabriella since getting to Spain. It had historical buildings and they were taking their time there, watching people pass them by. Danielle's arm was hooked through Roman's as they walked side by side.

"Smart, beautiful heart and personality. That's something that I'm big on because you can be the most beautiful woman in the world but if you have a horrible personality or a heart that's just evil, than what beauty do you have besides looks? What beauty do you have, that will ever go deeper than that? Drive, passion and ambition. But someone who can also make me laugh. Someone that I can easily talk to about anything and have a conversation with. She has to be honest and someone that I can trust. What about _you?"_ He asks her.

"Honest and trustworthy, that's very important to me." Danielle starts off. "Make me laugh and smile. A guy whom I can have an amazing conversation with, even when it's something as simple as a show or something. But a guy that can give me something that I've always needed."

Roman looks over at her. "What is it that you need?"

She looks up at him and feels butterflies in her stomach from the way his eyes were on her. "To be protected, cared for and loved. I've had very little of that in relationships. Maybe I'm still hoping for that one guy that can show me that it's still possible."

Standing in front of her, Roman takes her hands in his. The electricity fills both of them as their hands rested in each others. They did something to each other, that not a lot of people ever did for them. I'm that moment, Roman decided that he was going to try the next step.

"Will you go out with me, tomorrow night?" He asks Danielle.

"Is this for a date?" She softly asks.

Roman rests his finger under her chin as his eyes connect with her. "Yeah, it's definitely a date. After the other night, I've decided that I need to do something about that certain someone."

"That could be a good idea." Danielle says, keeping her hands in his.

"Me too." He says, getting lost in her eyes.

All he wanted to do was just take her in his arms, but he wanted to take it easy and not rush her or force her into doing anything. The world around them was forgotten about as the two just stood there in front of each other. That was, until a group of people passed by, laughing and singing along as they passed by. Danielle and Roman looked each other before smiling and deciding to go back to the hotel. Once they returned, they saw Gabriella and Dean in the living room, talking while the television played in the background.

"Look who's back." Dean says. "And it's only one in the morning."

"Adventures can be fun." Danielle tells him. "Right, Roman?"

He smiles over at her. "It can be fun."

After they change out of their clothes for the night, Danielle goes with her sister out to the balcony and Dean stays with Roman. They tried to understand what was going on with the program that was on the television, but their knowledge on Spanish wasn't great.

"So I finally asked her out on date." Roman tells his best friend.

"It's about time, you asked her." He says. "What'd she say?"

Roman chuckles and smiles. "She said yes. I just have to figure out what restaurant can be good to take her for dinner."

"I'll help you look." Dean offers. "I was starting to wonder when you were going to ask her. This is the first time in a while that I've seen you like someone as much as you like her."

"There's just something about Danielle that I can't ignore and deny." Says Roman as he looks over at the sisters. "I want to see where this goes. I don't want a hookup with Danielle. She's the type of girl that you date and try to have a good thing with. Something that goes beyond a random hookup."

The next day came and went, and before they knew it, Roman and Danielle were getting ready to go out on their first date. Gabriella was with her sister, trying to let her know that she looked perfect. Though Danielle dressed as comfortable as she could possibly dress, when she's around Roman, this time around, she wanted to really impress him. Coming out of the room that she shared with Roman, he couldn't take his eyes off of her, when she came into view. Danielle wore a light blue dress, that reached slightly above her knees, and a little longer in the back. It had a sweetheart neckline and played well to her curves. Her sandles were brown with blue strings and designs, and a few bracelets on her wrist, with studs in her ears. Her hair was out and reaching down her back, in neat and loose curls.

"It's too much, isn't it?" Danielle asks, about to turn around to go change into something else.

"No, it's perfect." Roman says with a deep voice, as he takes in the beauty and perfection that is the woman standing in front of him.

She turns around and faces the man who brings butterflies to her stomach. Her face grows warm, as she gives him a sweet smile. Roman wore jeans, with a grey, short sleeved shirt that showed his muscles and his tattoo. His hair was neatly slicked back into a bun and he had shaved.

"Behave tonight, okay?" Gabriella jokingly says to Roman as she and Dean, walk them to the door. "I know where you live if you try anything funny with her."

Danielle softly laughs, entertained by it. Roman clears his throat and quickly agrees, making her laugh more. They finally say goodnight and leave, to go to dinner. They walk side by side, once they're outside and close enough to for their arms and hands to touch. Eventually, Roman got the courage to hold her hand while they talked, and when Danielle didn't pull away, their fingers intertwined even as they got to the restaurant.

Like a gentleman, he opened the door for her and let her in first and pulled out her chair when the waiter led them to their table. When the waiter offered some wine, they both decided to ask for red wine. After they ordered and they were left alone, Danielle looked around and admired the beauty of the place. She liked that it was small and intimate, and not crazy. It gave people a chance to have some privacy with whomever they were with. Looking over at Roman, his eyes worked their way to her and they shared a smile.

"You seem nervous." She softly says.

"I do get nervous about things. But why shouldn't I be? I'm on a date with a girl that I like and I want to impress her." He says, looking at his hands. "You look beautiful, by the way."

Danielle's face grows pink as she gives that sweet smile of hers. Leaning over, she kisses his cheek and when she slightly pulls away, their eyes lock. Roman gently touches her nose with his before their food came, bringing them back to the real world. He quietly clears his throat as she hooks a piece of her hair behind her ear and goes back to being to what felt like having a guard up. Danielle wasn't one to show much emotion other than happiness, but Roman wanted her to feel safe and comfortable with him.

"Are you the type of person who likes to show affection toward the person you're in a relationship with, even in public?" Asks Danielle randomly, after they start eating.

"Yeah, I am." Roman says. "Even though I can be the type of person that, even though people know we're together, they don't know our business unless we decide to tell them, I still like to show affection and show that you're mine. But I can also be protective, and caring. Do you not like all of that affection stuff?"

Biting her lip, she smiles and nods "I do. I like holding hands and being held and stuff like that."

Roman chuckles and feels himself wanting to just reach across the table and kiss her. But he wanted it to be the right time for that and so he decided to wait a little longer. As the days went on, they continued to enjoy their time there with Dean and Gabriella, whole also enjoying each other's company. The more time that went on, the harder it was for the two of them to resist each other. When the day finally came for them to go back to the States, they were in the airport, bright and early. They had gotten some breakfast and were now walking around the airport, waiting for their flight to be called for boarding. The sisters were walking together in front of the guys and were having their own conversation.

"I'm going to spend some time with mom when we get back." Says Gabriella. "Things have been going good between the two of us and I wanted to continue that. She's been asking about you, though. Like a lot. You should come to lunch with us one day, or dinner or something."

"No, it's okay." Danielle tells her. "I'll spend time with you, though."

"Is it okay if I invite her?" Gabriella asks.

Danielle thought about it, but not for long. "No. I'll spend time with you, but without her. Don't try to surprise me either, with her."

"Come on, Dani. Please?" She begs. "Just one time and if you still feel the same way afterwards, then I'll leave you alone about it."

"Gabby, no, I don't want anything to do with her. I thought I've been making that very clear since the day you started talking about her again." Danielle tells her.

Gabriella keeps begging for her sister to agree to meeting up with her. Danielle wouldn't budge and so she kept going about it, until she stopped walking, clearly annoyed.

"I said no, so why do you keep asking me?" Danielle asked.

"Because she deserves a second chance." She replies.

Letting out a deep breath, Danielle looks around. "See, that's where we disagree because to me, she doesn't deserve a second chance and she'll never be deserving one."

"But she's our mom." Gabriella softly says.

"Then why did she never act like one to me? Especially when I needed her the most." Danielle whispers, with the threat of tears, forming.

Realizing that there was pain and memories still there, that may have been dormant, Gabriella was starting to regret pushing her sister to say yes. It was clear that she never forgot what it was like growing up, despite the life that they both have now.

"I'll say yes, this one time. But I'm only doing this for you." Danielle tells her. "I will _not_ promise you anything, Gabby. But if I still believe that she doesn't deserve a second chance from me, then you leave it alone and you _never_ bring it up again. Ever. Do you understand me, Gabriella?"

"Yes." She softly says.

Watching her sister grab her suitcase and walk away, Dean walks up to her as Roman keeps going to catch up. Gabriella now realized, thinking back on things, that Dean was right with how much Danielle really did just to make her happy, despite how she felt. Danielle always put aside what she wanted and felt to put her first and to give her what she wanted and rarely fought her on it. She was always one to be more than willing to do anything for Gabriella and never complained. This time, though, Danielle was putting up a bit of a fight and she now wasn't sure anymore if she still wanted to bring their mother around her.

"Danielle?" Roman asks, when he reaches her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She says with a soft smile.

He could see some of the sadness in her eyes and wanted to just make her feel better. "Are you happy to go back to Florida?"

"I don't know." Danielle says. "This place has been amazing and I had so much fun here. I would love to do this again, sometime. I genuinely thank you for inviting me to come along. You don't know how much this means to me. But the part of me that loves to work, is itching to go back."

"You really love to work, don't you?" He asks with a smile as they get to their gate and wait around a bit.

She shrugs with a smile. "My hard work is what's gotten me this far. Roman, I love what I do and I've worked my ass off to get what I have. I don't want to go back to how it was when I was growing up. I don't know when to give my self a break though."

"I get what you mean, though." Roman says, as they look out the window and see the planes that were there. "I'm all work, work, and more work. Love what I do, though."

"So what happens with us, when we get back?" Danielle asks him.

She didn't want to look at the man standing next to him, to not see his reaction to her question. Danielle knew what she wanted, and it was something that she couldn't deny. Standing next to him alone, was enough to make her heart flutter, yet yearn for him more.

"I know what I want." He says, facing her.

"And what's that?" She asks, turning to face him.

Roman was going to wait until they got back to Florida, but he knew that this was the moment to try it. No longer hesitating, placing his hands on her waist and knew that he was 100 percent sure of what he wanted. Leaning in and lowering his head, Roman's lips met hers for a long, sweet kiss. Pulling away, they share a smile as he wraps his arms around her, completely.

"Does this mean that you'll be giving me your affection? Your protection and all of your caring?" Danielle asks him, giggling.

He chuckles and pulls her close to him. "Does that mean you'll be my girlfriend?"

She gives him a big smile before nodding. "Yes."

"Then you'll get all of that, and more." Roman says to her. It was a promise that he was more than willing to keep for her.

"Please show me that you mean that." Danielle whispers.

They share another long kiss before being interrupted by the news that their flight was now boarding. With one more kiss, they grab their luggage and meet up with Dean and Gabriella to begin their journey back home.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

Three weeks after returning, things were getting back into place for everyone. Beginning with the time zone that they had t get used to again. Because of the time difference between Spain and Pensacola, things were out of wack for a few days. Packing up her things, Danielle was busy getting her things into boxes because of signing a new lease for a new place. She started looking before going on vacation and found a perfect place after coming back. It was about 30 minutes away from where she worked, but still close enough to everything that she needed. Hearing the doorbell, she went to answer it and couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

"Hey." Danielle says with a smile as she sees the man standing in front of her.

"Hey, baby." Roman says, walking in with a smile of his own.

He takes her in his arms and they share a long kiss as her arms make their way around his neck. Roman reluctantly pulls away and rests his forehead against hers. She just wanted to melt in his arms and stay there all day. She didn't know he would come over today, so this was a good surprise.

"I was thinking that maybe I can help out a bit with the packing and I was wondering if I can take you out to lunch." He tells her.

"I'd love that." Danielle says, with her arms resting on his shoulders while his strong arms, kept her close to him.

Their relationship was still new, going on almost a month, but they were doing good so far. They made each other happy and Roman made sure he stayed true to his word. Affectionate, caring and protective were things that he definitely was and he was gentle with her, and sweet. Roman picks her up and sits her on her kitchen counter, after following her there and stands in front of her. Between talking and kisses, they forgot all about packing until they stopped and looked around. They laughed before Roman helped her pack everything in the kitchen. After almost an hour, they were finished with the kitchen and got ready to go to lunch. Getting to the diner, they make their order and wait for their food.

"I was thinking," Roman starts off saying. "I'm going to see my parents tomorrow night for dinner. My parents have been asking about you since that time that we went out to lunch with them, and so I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

"I'd like that. But the last time they saw us, we weren't dating yet." Danielle says. "Do you think they'll still like me now?"

He curiously looks up at her and slightly frowns. "Why wouldn't they like you now?"

"Because I want them to see that I'm good enough for you." She softly says, playing with her fingers.

"Baby, you don't have to worry about that." Roman says. "You're perfect."

Danielle looks at their hands when Roman takes her hands into his. She saw how perfectly they fit into each other and how much she liked the feeling that she got when he held her hands. Meeting his eyes, she gave him that sweet smile of hers, and wondered what she did deserve a guy that was this good to her. He happily smiled at her, and bought her hands to his lips to kiss them.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was in the mall with her mom. They were able to catch up on things from the last few weeks, and they wanted to spend some time together. Gabriella wore shorts with a plain white t-shirt and her hair up in a bun. As much as she loved what she did, career wise, she also loved when she had the day off and got to dress more comfortably. Her mom stood at about the same height as her, with dark brown hair, and one green eye, with one blue eye. She has the same thing that Danielle has with her eyes, and it was one of the few things that the two had in common, while the girls grew up.

"So did you get to talk to your sister about meeting up?" Her mother asked.

"Yes." Gabriella replied, letting out a sigh. "It's like pulling teeth with her, and as much as I hated that I pushed and pushed, she said that she would. Though, she said that if she still felt like you didn't deserve a second chance, then that's the end of it. No more talking about it with her. I feel like she's doing it because she felt forced to do it, rather than it being something that she wants."

"I thought you'd be more happy that she at least said yes, regardless of the reason." She says.

Her daughter shrugged. "I am happy that she did. I just feel like she still has so much pain inside of her. Mom, I love her so much and she's the best sister ever, but she's so tough and once she's in a certain mentality about something, it's so hard to get through to her because she won't change her mind about it. She was made to do what she does for a living, mama, trust me."

The woman laughs softly, though remembering her oldest daughter. "Is she still the same way she was, growing up?"

"A little bit." Gabriella says. "Though she's calmed down a lot and she has learned to be more gentle."

"She's always had that in her, she just has it tucked away somewhere."

"Very true." Her daughter agrees as they walk into a clothing store and looked around.

Hearing her name, she turned to see her friend, Mary, walking towards her with a smile. They greeted each other before Gabriella introduced her friend, to her mom. They talked for a bit before Mary started thinking about something.

"Hey, I know this is probably a random question, but do you know if Roman is dating anybody or is interested in anyone right now?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's dating Danielle." Gabriella replies. "Why?"

Mary felt her heart drop, as she took in what was said. "Roman and Danielle? Since when? I didn't even know they were interested in each other."

"Yeah, they've been dating for a couple of weeks now. I didn't see it coming either when they first met, but they're really happy." She says. "Why, what's wrong?"

"Umm, nothing I was just wondering because one of my friends, I'm trying to hook her up with someone and Roman was the first one that came to mind. I thought he was still single since he never talked about being with anyone and so I thought she might like him." Mary says, though she herself knew that it wasn't true.

"Then again, he likes to keep his personal life private, so don't expect him and Danielle to let everyone know their business. At least, not right away." Gabriella says.

She knew that Mary and her sister, weren't the best of friends so she wasn't expecting Mary to know about Danielle's new relationship and growing romance. Feeling like something wasn't right with the reason that Mary had given her, she decided to push it aside for now.

"Please don't tell them." Mary says. "I don't want to cause problems or have either of them think the wrong thing."

"Mary, you know I don't like when people ask me to keep things from Danielle." She tells her.

They were the kind of siblings to tell each other everything and so, with the weird feeling she had about Mary's excuse, to then being asked to keep it from them, Gabriella wasn't sure what to make of it. As if she didn't have enough things going on in her head, this was now planted in it as well.

"I know, but I don't want any problems with them. Please, Gabby?" Asks Mary.

 ** _The next day..._**

"Roman, are you sure I look okay?" Danielle asks, when he parks the car in his parents driveway.

"Babe, you look beautiful." He tells her. "You'll be okay."

Which was the truth. She wore a long, blue summer dress that helped bring out her curves, with her long hair, falling down her back. The color of her dress helped bring out her eyes that Roman couldn't resist, and her soft lips, shined with lip gloss. Danielle wore her one of her favorite perfumes and had her favorite charm bracelet that she had gotten a few years ago from her sister.

"I don't know." She quietly says, looking down.

Roman gently rests his hand on the side of her face. "Don't doubt yourself, Danielle. You'll be okay."

She leans into his hand, and softly kisses it. "You're a really good guy, you know that?"

"I always try to be." He says.

They share a kiss and she wipes off some of her lip gloss when they pull away. They get out of his car and they hold hands when Danielle meets Roman on his side of the car. It was a small house, but it was filled with love and memories. He knocks on the door and his father opens it, a few moments later. The man was a bit on the tall side, and he was tan, like Roman with hair that had gone grey. He was a kind man and you could tell that he had an amazing bond with his son. After greeting each other, Roman's father turned his attention to Danielle who gave him a soft smile.

"You're just as beautiful in person. It's so nice to see you again." He says to her, receiving a sweet smile from her as a result.

"Thank you. It's nice to see you again, too." She says, as he took her in for a hug.

Walking into the house, Roman's nieces and nephews came running up to him to greet him. Danielle smiled at their interaction and even more when they greeted her as well. While she stayed with the kids, Roman made his way to his sisters and eventually his mother who gave him a big hug.

"Hi, Danielle." Says his mother with a warm smile, who had short blonde hair, with blue eyes. "It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you again, too." Danielle says with a smile of her own.

The two women laughed at something that was said and Roman's heart melted at the sight. What did he do to deserve Danielle? Who would have thought that they would go from hating each other when they first met, to dating and being in a relationship with each other. After greeting everybody, they sat down in the living room for a bit to talk and catch up on everyone's day. Danielle sat next to Roman and nestled against him, as he rested an arm around her, keeping her close to him. His parents noticed the way they were with each other, just like they noticed how they were weeks ago, before they started dating. They smiled seeing that their son was happy and that was something that they wanted for all of their children. For them to be happy. Once they went to the dining table for dinner, they filled their plates with mashed potatoes, chicken, macaroni and cheese and some salad.

"So how's work been for the two of you?" Asked Vanessa who was one of Roman's sisters.

"It's been busy." Roman says. "Catching up on some things that I missed when we were on vacation and after that, it's just been countless meetings and conference calls and, just a lot."

"Same here." Danielle says. "A big case load when I went back to work and so little by little, I've just been doing that plus dozens of meetings and paperwork and it's a lot of work. But I love what I do, so I don't mind."

"A lot of hours you two put into work." Says his mother. "How do you make time to see each other?"

Danielle looks over at the man sitting next to her and smiles. "We make it work. If you really want something, you'll find a way."

"And believe me when I say that I want to find a way." Roman says, looking over at her. "I didn't work hard to impress her to then give up. Not with her."

A shade of pink grew on her cheeks as she smiled and took a bite of her food. They kept talking until one of his sisters asked her a question about how her relationship is with her parents.

"Well, my dad passed away when I was a sophomore in college." Danielle says. "But it was up and down. Nothing serious, though. Same for my mom, just your usual teenage stuff."

She kept her answer, short and simple, not wanting them to know exactly how bad it was growing up. Nor wanting them to know why she wanted nothing to do with either one of them after leaving for college. Truth was, she hasn't seen her mother since her dad's funeral and that was over ten years ago. Seeing that Danielle didn't want to keep talking about it, Roman tried to change the direction of the topic, at least, to lighten it up for her and hoping that they didn't notice to much.

As the night went on, Roman started to miss his brother more than usual. He grew quiet, thinking about him and about all of the good times they had together, growing up and before his passing. He wondered how he would be today, had he still been alive.

"What's wrong?" Vanessa asked her little brother when she met him out back.

"Nothing, just thinking." Roman says.

He lets out a sigh and looks out at the sight in front of him. Memories of them playing around when they were younger came back to him and his heart hurt.

"I miss him." He whispers. "I wish he was still here."

"I know, we all do." She softly says. "But it's okay to miss him, you know."

Roman tries to smile, but he couldn't get himself to do it. "Do you think he would have liked Danielle?"

"He would have loved her." Vanessa honestly tells him. "He would have loved her sense of adventure, and that fire that she has inside of her. Would have said that she's good for you."

This time, he did smile. "Do you like her?"

"Yeah." She says with a smile. "We all do. Danielle makes you smile a lot and she makes you happy. You have this light in your eyes with her, that we've never seen you have with anyone else."

"I don't know how to explain it, but she's amazing." Roman says. "I just wish he was still here to meet her."

Vanessa takes in a deep breath and grabs her brother's face as she stood in front of him. "He's always going to be watching. He may not physically be here, but he's up there watching over all of us. Including you, Roman. He may not have been able to meet her, but I'm sure he's up there smiling away and glad that you have her. It's going to be okay."

Hearing a noise, they look back to see Danielle by the sliding door that leads to the back. "I'm sorry. I didn't you were back here."

"It's okay. He could use your company, right about now." Vanessa says with a smile, seeing the way her little brother looked at her.

Giving them some privacy, Vanessa went back into the house as Danielle walked up to Roman. He immediately takes her in his arms and she fit perfectly in them. Resting his cheek on the top of her head, she could sense that he needed this moment right now. This moment with just the two of them, holding each other.

"Are you okay?" She asks him, looking up at him.

"I just miss my brother, is all." He replies.

Danielle slightly pouts, wanting to make him feel better. But her just being there, willing to let him talk it out and listen, was enough for him. She assured him that she was there for him if he needed her and he placed a kiss on her forehead. Danielle reached up to give him a kiss on the lips and he gave her a smile before placing his lips on hers for another kiss. They stood there a little longer, talking and losing track of time before his mother came out and told them it was getting late. The two agreed to get some ice cream on their way back to Danielle's condo, where they stayed in her living room until three in the morning, talking and sometimes even sitting in silence, just enjoying each other's company.


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

It was a Friday afternoon, and Danielle was in another meeting with her team for another case that they had been working on. It was one of the biggest cases on her load and she wanted to herself and her team to perform at their best for this case, just like she wanted for every case she was a part of. Looking at the time, she saw that it was quickly approaching 5:00 and it was just like any other day. Busy with hours upon hours clocked in. Wrapping up the meeting, everyone slowly emptied out the room, leaving Danielle by herself. When she got her things together to go back to her office, something had gotten her attention, in the corner of her eye. Looking towards the direction of the elevators, she couldn't help but smile.

"Roman." She says, happily as she walks towards him.

"Danielle." He says with a smile of his own as she walks into his arms.

Wrapping them around her, they share a hug and take in each others scents. They share a kiss and smile when they pull away. Hearing someone clear their throat behind them, they look and see Paul Heyman standing there with a smile on his face.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Reigns." He says as they shake hands. "I hope everything is okay, this time."

"It is." Roman says with a smile. "I just thought I'd come by and offer Ms. Danielle, a ride and because I wanted to see her."

She smiles up at him and feels her heart flutter when he looks at her again. Paul saw something there that he hadn't seen before in Danielle and he smiled because it was a good thing. It wasn't everyday that people saw her this happy.

"She gets off at 5:30, so if you're willing to wait, then you're more than welcome to wait here until she gets off." Paul tells him.

"That's okay, I'll just take a seat." He says, thanking him and giving her a wink when Paul walks away.

Roman watches as Danielle walks away and into her office. She was wearing grey, dress pants with a black button down shirt and heels and her hair up in a slicked back ponytail. It showed her face more as well as those eyes that he loved to see. To Roman, half an hour seemed to go by forever, but he knew that it was worth it because he would get to see his girl. Seeing Danielle come out of her office with her purse and her phone, she closed the door behind her and said goodnight to some of her co-workers as she walked passed them.

"Hey beautiful." He says, resting a hand on her waist when she reaches him.

"Hey." She replies with a smile as her lips meet his for a kiss. "Ready to go?"

Roman nods and rests his hand on the small of her back as she walks in front of him. They share a few more kisses in the elevator and start talking about how their days were. Walking out to his car, like a gentleman, he opened the door for her and let her in. Once he pulled out of the parking, their hands found each other's and their fingers intertwine. Getting to Danielle's place, Roman found a parking near her car, and they both got out. They walked into the complex, and went up to the third floor. Though it was a condo, it was bigger than the one she had previously lived in. This one, was a three bedroom with two balconies and three and a half bathrooms.

A large living room was filled with a couch and sofa set, with a large flat screen television. A small table stood in between the television and the couch with pictures on the table and some on the walls of Danielle with her sister and friends and a balcony that had a few chairs and a small table. The master bedroom had a large, King sized bed with a canopy over it and white curtains that were tied to the posts. After their vacation to Spain, Danielle had fallen in love with a lot of the architecture there, and wanted at least one thing that would remind her of her trip there. A small bench stood in front of the bed and a flat screen television mounted on the wall a few feet away. There was a table underneath that had a remote rested on it and a few dvds of movies that Danielle had been watching. A black dresser on the right side of the room, was filled with some of her clothes and had a mirror and perfumes on the counter as well as a brush.

White curtains helped cover the windows to the doors that opened to the balcony that came with the room. Beside the bed, was a bedside table on each side. On one of them, there was a picture of Danielle and Roman with her giving him a kiss on the cheek. The bathroom that was connected to the room, was her favorite bathroom, but then again, it was also bigger than the others. There was a large shower that had two shower heads and parts of the wall that let out water as well. The walls and the floor of the shower were tile and the glass door was spotless. The floor on the rest of the bathroom was tile as well with the sink and the counter being marble and a large mirror. A white tub was further away, big enough for at least two people to fit in.

"This place is really nice." Roman says, as he walks around, taking another look.

"Thanks." Says Danielle as they walk into the kitchen.

The stove was stainless steel, as well as the oven, the sink and the refrigerator. The counters were all marble and the cabinets were a deep mahogany color where there were some plates and cups that Danielle left for when she had people over for dinner as well as some pots and pans that she was starting to take out for dinner. There was an island where the living room meets the kitchen with a vase of flowers on it that Roman had gotten for her the day before.

About an hour later, Danielle had finished making Alfredo with garlic bread and fried plantains. Roman had helped set up for dinner and helped out a bit throughout, even though he tried to kiss her more than help, but Danielle was just happy that he was there.

"Are you staying tonight?" Danielle quietly asked.

"Do you want me to?" He asks, looking over at her.

Her eyes met his and she shyly lowered her gaze before looking back up, seeing as how this was the first time she'd ever asked him if he would spend the night. At that moment, Roman would gladly stay if she said yes. It would be the first time that either of them spends the night, but it was bound to happen at some point. Danielle nods and looks up at him again to see his reaction. He gives her a smile and cups her chin to give her a kiss when he leaned over. Roman slightly pulled away and couldn't help but love the smile that she gave him. Touching her nose with his, he gave her another kiss and reluctantly pulled away again a few moments later.

"I'll stay as long as you want me to." He softly tells her.

"You sure?" She asks.

"I'm positive." Roman replies.

She touches his nose and smiles at him before finishing her dinner. Danielle curled up beside Roman on the couch when he joined her to watch some television. Wrapping his arm around her, she rested her head on his chest and felt his lips on her head. Roman felt comfort and peace, having Danielle in his arms. Sometimes he forgot how gentle she could really be as she sat beside him, calm and content. He could get used to this, he thought and didn't mind having this every weekend.

"I'm going to go get my things from my car." Roman softly says, after about an hour of watching television.

"Okay. I'll stay up here." Danielle replies, looking up at him.

He gives her a quick kiss and makes sure he has his car keys before going. It wasn't long before Roman had made his way back and put his things down in her room. Danielle quickly made her way to the bathroom and took a shower, coming out about 20 minutes later with a tank top and shorts, with her hair up in a bun. Roman's eyes lingered on her long legs and her curves before his eyes met hers. Danielle's cheeks grew a slight shade of pink and he couldn't help but smile to himself.

"I'm going to take a shower." He says, walking up to her.

"Okay." She softly says, resting her hands on his waist.

His strong arms made their way around her and held her close to him. Danielle melted into his arms and she dug herself into him, before he reluctantly pulled away. Thirty minutes later, Roman comes out with a wife beater and basketball shorts and his hair out after brushing it. The television in the room is on as the lights are off and Danielle sitting on the bench that is in front of the bed. He goes to get a quick drink of water to see that the lights are off except for the one in the kitchen, and he makes his way back to see his girlfriend crawling into bed.

"Mind if I join?" He asks.

Danielle pats the spot next to her after pulling the covers back and lets him get into her bed. Roman lets her rest her head on his chest as he wraps her in his arms. Breathing in her scent, he smells strawberries and kisses the top of her head.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" He asks, lightly tracing her arm with his fingertips.

"I'm meeting with my mom tomorrow and I don't know what to feel about that." Danielle replies.

"Do you want to meet with her?" Roman asks.

She thinks for a moment and shrugs. "No, not really. The main reason for why I'm going to try is because Gabriella wants me to and I love my sister so much, Roman. But what do people expect to come out of this, from my end? I agree that there are people who do deserve a second chance. But even though I've forgiven her, it hasn't been that easy to just forget. She'll always be my mother, and I won't ever deny that. It's just not as easy for me as it has been for Gabriella to forget and take her back in. I don't know if it'll ever be easy for me."

"Go at your own pace, baby." Roman softly says. "You don't have to jump right into taking her in. But, no matter your decision after meeting with her, at least you'll know that you sat down with your mom and had a conversation with her."

"I guess." Danielle quietly says, knowing that in the morning, she'll most likely feel the same way about it as she does now.

Quickly realizing that she didn't care to talk much about her mother, he changed the topic into something a little lighter. It changed her mood into a better one and so he never bought up her mother again for the rest of the night. Roman could only wonder what would be going on inside of Danielle, the moment she gets in front of her mother, if she could barely stand to talk about her now.

 ** _The next day..._**

The time to come face to face with her mother came quicker than what Danielle had wanted to. Getting dressed in jeans, with a blue t-shirt, boots that reached her ankles and had her long hair out, to let it finish drying after washing it earlier in the day. Making sure she had her things with her, she walked out of her condo and to the parking lot to get to her car. Because Roman had already made plans that day with Dean, the two weren't going to be with them today, so it would be just Danielle with Gabriella and their mother.

Music filled her car, as she turned on the radio and pulled out to make the 25 minute drive to the restaurant that they were going to meet at. She thought about what she would say when she finally got to see her mother, but at the same time, she didn't know what she would really say. It had been so long since they saw each other, and because it hadn't been on the best terms, she didn't know how her mother would react to seeing her again. Finally getting to the restaurant, Danielle parked her car and turned it off. Silence filled the car as she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She stepped out of her car and locked it before walking away and realized that she had a tight grip on her purse, and loosened it up. Reaching the restaurant, she opened the door and saw two familiar figures sitting down, by the door.

"Hey, Dani." Said her sister as she got up and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Gabby." Danielle replied with a smile.

They talk quietly, as their mother gets up and walks up to them. Tensing up a bit, Danielle looks over at the woman in front of her that she hadn't seen in about ten years. Dark, brown hair, about the same height as Gabriella and the same thing that Danielle has with her eyes. She looked a little older than what she did the last time the two had seen each other, but still looked good for her age.

"Hi Danielle." The woman says with a soft smile.

"Hey, mama." Danielle softly replies.

Gabrielle gently held on to her sister's hand. "I'm going to get us a table."

Danielle watched as she walked away and got the urge to follow her before she heard her mother's voice again, speaking to her.

"You look so beautiful, you know that?" She asks her daughter, walking up to her and placing her hands on each side of her face.

Tensing up again, Danielle just wanted to get away and go home. "Thanks, mama."

Gabriella came back with the hostess and Danielle quickly got out of her mother's grasp and followed, without hesitation. The two women left behind, looked at each other and sighed before quickly catching up to Danielle and the table that they were being given. After being given their menus, they were left with each other and silence quickly filled the air between them. When the waiter came and introduced himself, he offered something to drink and some appetizers. He came back a few minutes later and took the rest of their orders before leaving again.

"So how have you been, Danielle?" Asked her mother. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other."

"I've been good. Busy with work, but I'm doing good." She replies, keeping it short and simple. "How have you been?"

"I've been good. I've missed the two of you." She says. "It's good seeing the both of you together again. Reminds me of when you girls were little. I hear that you're an amazing attorney. I'm proud of you."

Sitting in front of her mother, Danielle wasn't really sure how to act or what to say. Her mind was racing with all of these thoughts, and she couldn't seem to straighten them out enough, so she preferred to not talk. But it was the first time in a very long time that she's heard her mother saw that she's proud of her.

"Thanks. I love being an attorney." She simply says. "I'm really good at it and they say it suits my personality."

"Because it does." Gabriella jokingly says, making her sister smile. "But she's really good at it, and she graduated at the top of her class in college and in law school. I'm proud her."

She was trying to ease the awkwardness a bit between her sister and her mother. She knew that Danielle wasn't big on wanting to be there today, but Gabriella was just glad that she made the effort to be there today. Luckily, compared to how Danielle used to be, growing up, she's glad that Danielle has managed to calm down a lot, especially with her temper. Though it didn't mean that if she got mad enough or if someone pushed the right buttons, and she didn't keep it together, that her temper wouldn't flare and probably without any hesitation, but Danielle made an effort to try and it has been working for her.

"So, the reason why I wanted you two to meet today was because of the obvious, you haven't seen each other and in a long time." Gabriella says. "Another reason being because I know that the two of you didn't leave each other on the best of terms and so maybe we can get something going to get back on good terms." '

"I'm willing to try." Their mother says as their food finally comes. "I'm just hoping that Danielle does, too."

The two look over at Danielle and see her ready to take a bite of her food. "Why should I?"

"Dani, she's changed." Gabriella says. "Let her show you that she can be a better mother to us than what she was when we were growing up."

"Is that so?" Danielle asks, turning her attention to her mother. "Because what I remember is, whenever dad used to hit me, you did nothing to stop him. Nothing at all. Whenever dad used to burn me with his cigarettes, I'm crying and screaming at the top of my lungs, wanting him to stop. But you did nothing. I still have the marks of the burns on my body and it might never go away. You never protected me, mama. But I have to give you another chance, though, right? You weren't there for our first day of college. You weren't there for our graduations. When we both lost our jobs and we had to live in our car, you weren't anywhere to be found to help us. But I have to give you another chance. How does that work? How does that make sense? If I give you another chance, then explain to me this. When it comes time for me to have kids of my own, I'm supposed to trust you with them? I'm supposed to trust that you won't allow any harm to them, the way you allowed dad to do what he did to me almost every damn day? That you will defend me and my kids when someone does wrong to us?"

Their mother said nothing, letting her talk. Gabriella noticed that her temper was starting to rise and was hoping that she'd keep it under control.

Danielle took another bite of her food and chuckled. "You know, there were times when I took the blame for Gabriella so that dad wouldn't hit her and so that dad wouldn't burn her with the cigarettes. But that's because ever since we were little, I would do anything for her. Even if that meant take all the of the pain and the torture so that she wouldn't have to. I just wish you would have done something."

"Danielle, if only you knew how much I regret what happened in the past." Her mother says.

"Do you, mama?" She asks.

The woman looked up at her and saw, not a child, but a woman staring back at her with eyes that were full of fire, more than they have ever been. But she still saw that hint of aggression and anger that Danielle fought to keep inside.

"More than anything." Replies the woman. "You're right, I should have done something. I was scared and I shouldn't have been."

"Seeing what he did to me, should have been enough to encourage you to do something! It should have been more than enough, damn it!" Danielle yells, slamming her hands against the table with more force than what she may have intended to use.

Gabriella slightly jumped at the sudden outburst and everyone around them looked at the women. Danielle rested her hands underneath her chin and closed her eyes before continuing to eat, though she took her time in doing so.

"I'm sorry, Danielle." Whispered her mother. "I'm sorry for everything."

"Are you?" She softly asks.

That was enough to let her mother know that she was going to have to try a lot harder than this to show her daughter that she was a better person than what she ever was.

"More than anything." Says her mom.

"Danielle, please." Gabrielle quietly begged.

She played with her food, pushing it around. Gabriella, seeing that Danielle wasn't planning on saying any more, anytime soon, talked without thinking about her words.

"If you can't give mama another chance, then I don't know what to tell you, but maybe we should give you some space." She tells her sister.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Danielle spat out. "You're just going to stop talking to me if I choose to not want anything to do with her?"

"Gabriella, stop." Their mother says. "She has a right to feel what she feels and has a right to decide what she wants. This isn't something that you'll be able to force, especially not with ultimatums."

Seeing the hurt in Danielle's eyes, Gabriella was quickly regretting it. Though she didn't have much chance to talk because her sister quickly asked for the check. When the waiter bought them their check, Danielle quickly took a look and took out her wallet, taking out some money.

"This should cover everything." She says, putting her wallet in her purse as she felt a lump in her throat and a sting in her eyes. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. I'm sorry."

Fighting tears, Danielle stood up and left after grabbing her purse, leaving her sister with their mother. Turning her attention to the daughter that stayed behind, she rested her hand on top of hers.

"Gabriella, you have good intentions about this and I appreciate it, I really do." The woman says. "But you can't force someone to have a relationship of any kind with someone else. It won't be genuine and the feelings may not be mutual if it's forced. I want to have a relationship with her. I miss her, just as much as I have missed you. If she decides to have a relationship with me, I want it to be because it's something that she wants, something that she decided on her own. Not because she's being forced into it. Danielle loves you, and she would do just about anything for you. But don't take advantage of her because of that, Gabriella."

She knew her mother was right, and felt even more guilty. "It's just, I wanted her to give you a chance so badly because I see that you've changed for the better."

"But Danielle has to see it, too, sweetheart." Her mother gently, says. "Don't jump on top of her, trying to get her to let me back into her life. Believe me when I say that it'll only make things worse and I would hate to see the two of you on bad terms with each other."

"Yeah, me too." Gabriella whispers.


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

The day seemed to drag by slowly as everyone went their separate ways for the remainder of the day. Gabriella ran a few errands with her mother, while Danielle went food shopping and did some cleaning and laundry when she got back home. Roman was going to go to dinner with his friends while she would do the same with hers. It wasn't until after Danielle got home after dinner and took a shower, that she let the events from earlier in the day, occupy her mind. Hearing her phone ring, it pulled her from her thoughts and she smiled seeing who it was.

"Hi, Roman." She says when she answers.

"Hey, baby." Roman says with a smile, as he hears her voice. "How you doing?"

Danielle lets out a sigh and curls up on her bed as she watches television. "I'm okay. Did you have a good day, today?"

"Yeah, it was good. Dean kept me entertained like he usually does." He says with a chuckle. "We met up with some friends for dinner and we had really good conversation. But I missed you. How was yours?"

She tells him about her time with her friends before telling him what happened at lunch with her sister and her mom. The threat of tears resurface and she tries to keep it together. Roman hears the sadness in her voice and wished he was there with her.

"Do you want me to go over to your place?" Roman asks.

"I don't want to bother you." Danielle softly says, though she wanted his company, more than anything tonight.

She wanted to be in his arms and with the comfort and safety that came with it. Danielle loved when they were together, though it wasn't always easy with how busy they both were, with their careers. But they've managed to always find a way to make it work. She loved how he always found a way to make her laugh and smile, even when she didn't feel like it. She loved how he wasn't afraid to show her off and show how much he liked spending time with her and how protective he was of her. The way his eyes get when he smiles or laughs. The way she fits perfectly into his arms, as if they were meant for her. The way Roman looked at her, making her heart flutter and skip a beat.

"You're not going to be bothering me, Danielle." He tells her. "Besides, we could use some time together and we're in need of an adventure with each other."

Danielle laughs softly, making Roman smile. It amazed him how the sound of her laugh and seeing her smile made him smile and feel better, so easily. The way she made him want to be a better person without her even knowing it. He loved how she just lights up a room and how she kept him on his toes with all of her desires for adventures, but how he still so easily agreed to every single one of them. Roman loved her company and how intelligent she is. That was something that he always found attractive in Danielle, her intelligence, and how her eyes light up when she talks about something that she likes. The excitement in her voice and in her eyes when she's enjoying the moment and the look on her face when she's thinking about something. The way she's held on to his heart, amazed him and this was something that he didn't want to mess up.

"We can go on an adventure." Roman says, knowing it would spark her desire for the night.

"An adventure?" Danielle asks. "You sure?"

Roman smiled and closed his eyes, knowing he would give in to wherever she wanted to go. "Let's go on an adventure, tonight. Get ready, I'll pick you up."

"Okay." She says with a smile.

When he finally made it to her place, he took her in her arms and heard her squeal when he picked her up and spun her around. Danielle laughed, as her arms held on tightly around his neck. Looking up, Roman's breath caught in his throat as she threw her head back in laughter and happiness. Putting her back down, his eyes caught hers and held on a little tighter, not wanting to let go.

"What?" She asked when he didn't say anything.

"Nothing. I just really missed you, today." He says, hooking a piece of hair behind her ear.

Danielle smiled at him. "I missed you, too. So tell me, where are we going to go at 10 o'clock at night?"

"Anywhere you want." He tells her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist.

"What if I just want to go to your house and lay in bed all night?" She curiously asks, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He pulls her as close to him as he could, before softly kissing the back of her ear. "Whatever you want, baby. We'll make an adventure out of it."

Danielle's lips meet Roman's for a kiss that quickly deepens and turns passionate, but he reluctantly pulls away, as he quietly groans. Resting his forehead against hers, he sees Danielle pout and quickly kisses her again, wanting her more than she knows. Biting her lip as he pulls away, he just wanted to take her home and keep her in bed for as long as he could.

"I don't want to mess this up." Roman whispers. "I don't want to rush you into this and have this mess up. You mean so much to me and I don't want to lose you."

"Why do you think having sex will mess anything up?" Danielle asks.

He looks into her eyes and sees his reason why. "I don't want you to think that it's the only reason I want to be with you. I want you in more ways than one and I don't want to force you or rush you into it if you're not ready. You don't know how bad I want you and I know that I may not be able to stop once I start. I'm not messing anything up. Not with how I feel about you."

"How do you feel about me?" She whispers.

"I'm falling for you more and more every day." Roman quietly tells her. "I'm not ruining this. You're to important to me. Besides, I want to make love to you, first."

Danielle felt her heart fill with joy as her cheeks turned red. She was finally having her happiness with a man of her dreams. She didn't want to let him go, but she was also scared because she didn't want this to get taken away from her. Kissing him, Danielle felt the way he deepens the kiss, again before pulling away.

"Let's go home." She suggests, as she melts in his arms. "Well, to your home."

He smiles at her, knowing that she might find a reason to drive around, making the drive longer. Letting go of her, he grabbed her bag which was by the door, and followed her out the door after she made sure that she had everything she needed. Just like he thought, she wanted to stop for ice cream along the way, and he happily agreed. They sat in Roman's car, with their ice cream but silence filled the car. Looking up at the woman sitting in front of him, sadness filled her eyes, though she tried to remain upbeat.

"Have you talked to her?" Roman asks, gently wiping some ice cream off the corner of her lip.

"No." Danielle says. "I don't know what to say."

She grabs on to one of his fingers and doesn't let go. "See what happens tomorrow. I know how much you love her and how much she means to you."

"That's why it hurts." Danielle whispers.

"I know, baby. It's going to be okay." He softly says, kissing her hand.

As they finish up their ice cream, the conversation becomes more upbeat. It starts raining and they decided to make their way to Roman's house. Pulling into the driveway, he turns the car off and looks over at Danielle. There was something about the look in her eyes that just made him want to keep her in bed all night and he wanted to take it easy. But he's been trying to take it easy for long while now and it's only gotten harder to do so.

Roman quickly for out of the car to get her bag from the trunk and closed it, to see her quickly making her way to his front door, to avoid getting as wet as possible from the rain that was now pouring. He jogged to the stairs that led to the front door and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. His lips met hers for a passionate kiss that leaves them both breathless.

"Danielle." He whispers, against her lips, just wanting to feel her lips again.

She pulls at his shirt and they share another kiss. All she wanted was to be in his arms and feel his lips all night if she could. Roman kept stopping himself and she picked up on it. He wanted to keep it going and though he wanted the same, he stopped himself to not rush her into it in case she wasn't ready. Taking his face in her hands, she closed her eyes when they pulled away. Their silence spoke for them and he managed to open the door and they both walked inside.

Danielle made her way upstairs and to his bedroom. It was a large room, probably a little bigger than hers. A king bed in the middle of the room, with white and grey sheets and a black bed frame. A black dresser with a mirror and just some cologne and a brush on top of the dresser. There was a walk in closet that held his suits and his dress shoes, along with some of his regular, more casual clothing as well as some watches. It had beige carpet, as did the rest of his room, and of course, it was the dream closet of a lot of women, including Danielle.

There were two bedside tables, by Roman's bed and on one of them was a picture of Danielle with Roman standing behind her and his arms around her. She remembered the day as if it was yesterday. They were on a date and he had bought her flowers. They were both smiling away as the picture was taken and it had become one of her favorite pictures of them. The bathroom was almost the same size as her room back at her condo. Two sinks, with mirrors and marble counters. A large bathtub that would probably fit the two of them and a shower that had glass doors and let out water, even from the walls.

Danielle settled in and changed into shorts and a plain t-shirt that showed a bit of her flat stomach and leaving her hair out. After brushing her teeth, she tried to find something to watch on the television that was in the living room, even though Roman had one in his bedroom. Fifteen minutes after she tried to make herself comfortable, Roman came into the living room and sat next to her. A few minutes later, he takes the remote and turns off the television while he gets up. She looks at him as if asking why he did that and he walks back to her, taking her hand.

"Let's go to bed." He simply says.

She follows him, as he keeps holding on to her hand. Roman closes the door behind them and runs his hand through his hair that he had left out. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Danielle knew it probably would be one of those nights where she would stay up, even hours after Roman fell asleep. She watched as he took off his wife beater, exposing his abs and the tattoo that was on his chest, and lets it fall on the floor. He rests his hands on the bed on each side of her and watched as her eyes made their way to his. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat with the way he looked at her.

Slightly sitting up, their lips met for a kiss and it deepened, leaving them breathless as they pulled away. Danielle got up and Roman took off her tank top, tossing it on the floor, and showing her black lace bra. He took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately, before letting his hands travel her skin. Danielle let out of soft moan as she felt his hands against her skin. His fingers reached the top of her shorts and slowly took it off as he looked at Danielle, as if to see if she hesitated. Roman's eyes lingered on her curves, and he picked her up before laying her down in bed.

"You sure you want me to keep going?" He asks.

"Yes." She answered. "Do you?"

Roman touches her nose with his and gives her a kiss. His lips made their way down to her neck and she softly moaned as he kissed her neck and her collarbone. Reaching the back of her bra, he managed to unlatch it and take it off, freeing her breasts. Going further down, his lips trail down her breasts, leaving kisses until he takes them and leaves her with harden nipples. As Roman slowly kissed every inch of her body, she had remembered every burn that was left behind by her father's cigarettes and remembered every spot where there was a burn. When she tensed up, Roman quickly stopped and looked up at her.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asks her.

"You don't hate it?" She asks.

Roman curiously looks at her. "Hate what?"

"The burns." Danielle quietly says. "I know you've seen them before when I've worn my bikini, but, you never commented on them and I just, I don't know, I just feel like people stare sometimes when they see them and even though I don't care about what they think about it, I just really care about you, and I care a lot and..."

He gives her the sweetest kiss that she's ever had. "I don't hate them and you're still beautiful. Don't ever think that they make you any less beautiful. Listen, I'll beat someone up if they try to slick with you, because I'm just not having that and yeah."

She laughs and gives him the biggest smile before kissing him again. When she gets her underwear off, his lips make his way back down, and to her legs where he kisses the inside of her thighs. Making his way to her sex, she softly gasps when he works his tongue into her and against her clit. Arching her back and digging her hand into his hair, her moans fill the room as Roman makes sure she enjoys every moment of it. Danielle reaches her climax and he gets up, to take his basketball shorts off, revealing his long and thick erection. Roman gets in between her legs and they kiss, before he slowly and gently enters her. They both moan as he does and she tried to adjust to him. Slowly he begins moving and both of them fill the room with sounds of pleasure.

"Roman." She softly moans as his thrusts get deeper and full of more passionate.

He takes her hands and holds them above her head, as his lips find their way back to her neck. Just as he felt himself getting a bit rough with his thrusts, he quietly growls against her neck and moans in pleasure as he slows back down. They kiss when he lets go of her hands and they find their way to his back. Danielle digs her nails into his back and arches her back again, making him go deeper. Roman holds her leg against his arm, and she feels his grip on her thigh as he thrusts more, causing her to moan louder.

Cursing under his breath, her name escapes his lips and her nails dig a little deeper into his back, slightly scratching him. Roman continues making love to her, and they realize that they're both close. A little while longer, Danielle's reaching her climax and after a few more passionate thrusts, Roman pulls out and groans as he releases his seed on her stomach. Trying to catch their breathes, after a few shared kisses, he gets up and goes into the bathroom and cleaned himself up before going back to Danielle to do the same for her.

Getting back into bed, Roman automatically takes her into his arms, with Danielle resting her head on his chest and her arm across his stomach. He feels her fingers tracing the tattoo on his chest and his fingers trace her arm. Roman manages to get her on top of him and pulls the covers up to her waist. Danielle let's out a shiver when he softly traces her back, along her spine. They share kisses and it wasn't long before they make love again.

The next morning, Roman woke up and saw Danielle peacefully sleeping next to him. She slightly stirred before he kissed her forehead, but stayed asleep as he gently got out of bed, not wanting to wake her up. He thought she was just as beautiful when she slept, as she did when she was awake. Danielle was so calm and not restless like she sometimes is when she's wide awake, with her mind going at 100 miles an hour with everything that she takes on. Seeing a small smile on her face as she slept, his heart skipped a beat he couldn't help but smile as he hooked some of her hair behind her ear. He just wanted to wake her up and make love to her again, but he decided to let her keep sleeping and smiled to himself. After taking a shower and brushing his teeth, he made his way to the kitchen to make breakfast. Almost half an hour later, he felt a pair of hands on his sides, and a kiss on the back of his shoulder. Turning around, he sees Danielle standing there with her hair up in a bun and in one of his shirts, with nothing on underneath except for her bra and panties.

"Good morning, beautiful." He says and sees a smile appear on her face, making him feel a lot better.

"Good morning." She says as he gives her a kiss.

She feels butterflies in her stomach when he does, and feels his arm wrap around her waist. Her lips graze his jaw as they talk, and he smiles at her before picking her up and sitting her on top of the island.

"Are you okay from last night?" He softly asks. "I know I got carried away last night and I didn't mean to be so rough."

"I'm fine." Danielle tells him, resting her hand on the side of his face. "It was perfect. You were perfect."

"Are you sure?" He asks.

She smiles at him and gives him a kiss. "I'm positive. Did you mean what you said, last night?"

"About what?" He asks.

"About how I'm important to you and that you'd beat someone up for me." She says with a small smile.

Roman chuckles and rests his hands on her waist. "Absolutely. You already mean more to me, than you realize and I'm not letting anyone mess with my girl. I'll kick someone's ass for you."

Roman sees the sweetest smile on her lips before giggling and realized how happy he is with her, and how this is the happiest that he's been in a really long time and how he feels so alive because of her. Standing in between her legs, Danielle rested her arms on his shoulders and played with his hair. Cupping her chin, he gave her a sweet kiss and helped her down from the counter so that they could have their breakfast. After they finished, they just sat on the couch and watched television until it was time for them to get ready for lunch with his parents.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was with her mother, and they were going to spend some time together for lunch, with Dean. Gabriella hadn't heard from her sister since the day before, when she went to lunch with her and their mother. It didn't end on the best of terms, and after talking to her mother, she regretted how she went about dealing with it. She felt bad about what she was making Danielle do, and she couldn't help but feel like maybe she really was taking advantage of her sister.

"That looks like Roman's car." Says Dean, when they get out of his SUV and see a black, Tahoe parked nearby. "Then again, he mentioned that he was going to lunch with his parents today."

"Do you think Danielle is with him?" Asked Gabriella.

He thinks for a moment and shrugs. "Probably. Yesterday he mentioned that he wanted to spend some time with her today and you know she's already met them, like before they even started dating."

They walk into the diner, they see Roman's parents who called Dean over when they saw him. They had met Dean a few years ago and they knew that Dean and their son are the best of friends. He greeted everyone when he got to the table and Gabriella greeted them as well, seeing as how they remembered her from the times that she had come over for dinner with Dean. Danielle shifted in her seat a bit when her sister introduced their mother to them, though it went unnoticed by Roman's parents.

"I'm Roman." Says Danielle's boyfriend when her mother shakes his hand.

"Nice to meet you." She says with a smile. "Hi Danielle."

She smiles at the woman. "Hey mama. How you doing?"

They talk for a quick moment and Gabriella looked over at her sister. Danielle looked over at her and gave her a smile, before they went to their table. Roman turned his attention to his girlfriend and kissed her cheek.

"You okay?" He quietly asks her.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She replies.

Danielle wasn't expecting to see them, but was more happy to see Dean than she was to see her own sister and mother. Turning her attention back to the conversation that was being held while they waited for their food, Roman was quickly learning that she wasn't much of a fan of surprises. But then again, he wasn't sure if it was that, or the because of what had happened the day before, between them. Roman's mother, on the other hand, smiled when her son looked over at Danielle. He absolutely adores her and it's written all over his face when he looks at her, even as she talks to her husband about something on television as their food finally came and they began eating. There was no denying that Danielle absolutely adored Roman because it was in her eyes, every time she looked at him but she knew well enough to see that it went deeper than that, especially when she randomly kissed his cheek and giggled when he looked over at her.

"You're so cute." Roman chuckles, kissing her cheek.

Giving him a big smile, she turns her attention back to her food. Her mother smiled as she watched and knew that Roman was the one for her. About 45 minutes later, Roman had gotten up, followed by Danielle and his parents. The large Samoan went to go pay the bill while his parents stayed behind to talk to Gabriella, her mother and Dean. Danielle stood by, listening in to the conversation while standing quietly. She felt relief when Roman came back and stood by her side. Resting his hand on her waist, he kept her close to him and took in the smell of her perfume.

"What are you guys doing later tonight?" Asked the woman who the two different colored eyes.

"We don't have anything planned for tonight." Roman's father asked. "What about you two?"

Realizing that he was referring to them, Roman spoke up. "We're going to go watch a movie with some friends. Dean, the invitation is still open for you and Gabby."

"I wanted to spend some time with her tonight." Dean says, looking over at his girlfriend.

Gabriella smiles up at him and her sister smiles, seeing the look in his eyes when he looks at her. They're full of love for her and anybody who knew them, could tell how much they loved each other and how happy they were together. They are perfect for each other and Danielle couldn't have asked for a better person for her sister, than Dean.

"They're in their own little world, huh?" Says Roman's mother when she sees the way her son looks at the woman standing beside him.

When he turned his attention to everyone else, his arm wrapped around her waist and he smiled. "What can I say? I'm crazy about her."

After a few more minutes, they leave and go to the parking lot of the restaurant. Danielle holds on to Roman's hand as their fingers intertwined. They talked to his parents for a few minutes before leaving each other. Starting his car, he turns his attention to his girlfriend.

"Spend the night with me." Roman softly says. "I'll take you to work tomorrow and I'll gladly take you to lunch and pick you up from work to take you home. Or to take you home with me."

Danielle sweetly smiles at him before giving him a kiss. "I'll probably just end up staying at your place tomorrow, if I go. I'll be neglecting my condo."

He chuckles. "Then I'll go to your place. Besides, I thought I'd spend some time showing you how much I want to make love to you."

She giggles sweetly, and it was music to his ears. They share a few more kisses before they leave, but they knew what her answer was, without her having to say it. She was quickly becoming his world, and it he knew why. And soon, she would know, too.


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

Wide awake in the middle of the night, still in her bed, it was another restless night for Danielle. She tossed and she turned and she just couldn't get herself to fall back asleep. Though Roman was sound asleep, he felt her movements and wondered if she was okay. Letting out a sigh, Danielle slowly got out of bed to not wake him up, and put on his shirt before walking around. Going to the kitchen, she got some water and sat down at the island, before putting her head down. When that didn't work, she went to the living room and laid down on the couch. It managed to work for about 15 minutes before she decided to go back to her room and to the bathroom to put some water on her face.

Crawling back into bed, she looked over at Roman was sleeping away. Danielle smiled, watching him sleep and seeing how peaceful he was. Laying on her back, she stared up at the ceiling, before looking over at Roman. Lightly tracing his soft, full lips with her fingers, and let her hand feel the beard that he had growing in. She stopped to get comfortable and felt him stir.

"Yes, baby." Roman says in a sleepy voice.

Danielle's heart fluttered at the sound of his voice, though his eyes were still closed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Roman opened his eyes and saw her pouting as she played with her hair. "Are you okay?"

"I can't sleep." She says as she rested on her side, to face him.

"You're too cute to be pouting like that." He softly says.

Hearing her giggle, he smiles and wraps an arm around her. Danielle rests her head on his chest and her arm around his waist. Roman lets out a deep sigh as he takes in the scent of her hair. Closing his eyes again, he finds comfort in having her in his arms while he slept. It felt right and he knew that it was with her that he belonged with.

"Try to get some sleep, sweetheart." He tells her, as he kisses the top of her head before she looks up at him and pouts again.

Roman chuckles and smiles when she laughs. Danielle snuggles closer to him as he rests his arm around her once more. He falls asleep a few minutes later and with the sound of his heartbeat in her ear, she finds comfort and peace in it before closing her eyes.

Later that day, Gabriella was making her way to her car as she was done for the day with work. She took out her phone when she got into her Mercedes Benz, and looked for her sister's name in her messages. When she did, she wrote to Danielle asking if they could go to dinner tonight, just the two of them. Looking at the time after sending it, she knew Danielle would still be at work and so she wasn't sure how quickly she would reply. It had been about a month since the two had spoken to each other and with Christmas coming up in a couple of weeks, Gabriella wanted to spend it with, not just Dean, but her sister.

To her surprise, Danielle replied before she even put the car in drive. Gabriella softly smiled when she saw that the older of the two had agreed to dinner. They managed to set up a time and a place to meet and that was the last thing she saw from Danielle. A few hours later, Gabriella stood outside of the restaurant that she would be having dinner at. Wearing jeans, with a blue shirt and her hair out as she wore a grey sweater and her purse in her hand. Looking at the time on her phone, she knew she was a bit early, but she hoped that Danielle would make it.

Ten minutes later, she spotted Danielle making her way to her and sighed in relief, seeing that she had made it. There were moments when she wondered if she would really show up or not, and Gabriella wouldn't blame her if she didn't after everything she put Danielle through. Seeing her with jeans, a black, leather jacket, black boots with heels, and a black purse, with her hair in two french braids, Gabriella couldn't help but smile. The sisters greeted each other and walked into the restaurant, and got seated.

"So how have you been?" Asked Gabriella as she sat across from her sister. "It's been a while since the last time we saw each other."

"I know, it's been what, a month?" Danielle asks. "I've been good. Busy with work and I'm working on a big case and so you know how that goes. You?"

Thanking the waiter for their drinks and ordering their food, they waited until he left before resuming their conversation.

"I've been good. Busy with work and with Dean and stuff. I know him and Roman are leaving on Sunday for their business trip. They're going to be gone for two weeks." She replies.

"I know." Danielle says, trying to not sound so sad about it. "This is the first time since Roman and I started dating, that we'll be apart. I mean, apart like this and without seeing each other for all this time. I don't want him to go, but it comes with his job, I guess, so what can I do? Besides, they should be back in time for Christmas, so I'm happy about that."

Softly smiling, Gabriella's eyes met hers. "You got work, and your friends while they're gone. And you have me."

"Yeah, I'll be okay." She says.

"Dani, I'm really sorry. For everything. I never meant to hurt you, and I never meant to force you into anything." Gabriella tells her. "I was just so focused on what I wanted because of how it worked out for me, that I didn't stop to think about what you wanted or about how you felt."

The food finally came and Danielle played with hers for a moment. "You had good intentions. But I said no, a lot of times, Gabriella and you kept pushing and pushing, as if nothing was going to happen. I love you, so much. I really do. But don't do that to me. Don't put me in a situation where something like this happens between the two of us or even worse all because you want me to do something that _you_ want me to do. If there's ever a chance that mama and I will ever be on good terms again, then perfect, but it needs to be on my terms. Until then, let me feel the way I feel about her, even if you don't think it's right. At the end of the day, when it comes to me and her, I am the one that needs to be okay with having her in my life. Enough with all the forcing to do things, with the surprises that you know I'm going to hate, as if I don't already hate surprises to begin with."

Gabriella smiles, knowing that it was true, how she felt about surprises. It's been like that since they were little, and it hasn't changed, even to this day.

"Are you ever going to not hate surprises?" She asks.

"I don't know. I've hated them this long, it'll probably stay like that for the see able future." Danielle replies.

Smiling, Gabriella sighed. "I understand what you're saying, though. I shouldn't have pushed you so much and so hard to try to have something with her. All I saw was that mama and I were getting along and moving forward so easily and without any problems, that I didn't think that it would be any different between you and her. I didn't think it would be so hard for the two of you."

"I've forgiven her, Gabby." Says Danielle. "But that doesn't mean that I'm ready to have her back in my life. It's going to take a little longer for me, that's all."

Roman and Dean made their way through the mall as they made sure they got everything they need for the two weeks that they would be gone. This wouldn't be the first time that Dean and Gabriella have been apart during their relationship, but it was the first time for Roman and Danielle. This is usually one of the reasons for why it never worked out in his relationships, but then again, it was also partly him. Roman would always dive into his career and it would hinder his relationships because he didn't always make enough time when he should have. With Danielle, he quickly used what he had learned in the past to try to make it last with her.

"Have you told her yet?" Asked Dean, bringing him back to the present moment.

"I told her about the trip and how long we're going to be gone for." Roman says. "I told her the same week we found out about it."

He smiles and looks over at him. "I meant that other thing that you mentioned like a few weeks ago. It had been a little over a week since you two had seen each other because you two were so busy and whatnot and you said you missed her and wanted to see her and all that good stuff."

"No I haven't." Roman says, remembering.

"Why not?" His best friend asks.

The large man looked at some shoes and took it out of the box to see if better. "I just...I'm such a chicken."

"Coming from the man who's wrapped around his girlfriend's finger." Dean says, and they both laugh.

"I didn't say I would never tell her, I just have to find the right moment." He says. "But then again, when is the right moment? Last night she couldn't sleep and she would give me the most adorable little pout and I wanted to tell her so bad and I just chickened out. I don't know how I'm going to do the next two weeks without seeing her if I don't even want to go a week without seeing her."

Dean chuckles. "Now you know what I feel like when we go on business trips and I have to be away from Gabriella."

Roman's only thought, other than understanding how Dean felt about being away from his girlfriend, was if he could take her with him on some of his trips. This woman has a hold on his heart that no other woman has ever had on him. He was already eager to see her again, before leaving but he also knew that he would try to keep himself occupied to help get him through the two weeks that he would be away. Dean was right, he was wrapped around her finger, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Walking out of the store, they ran into Mary, who they knew was friends with Gabriella.

"It's nice to see you here." She says to them, but more directed to Roman.

He tried to be nice to her because of her friendship with Gabriella but for some reason, he always felt like it was awkward between them. He kept his distance from her, especially because he knew that Danielle wasn't very fond of her. The two weren't the best of friends and ever since Gabriella told them about how she reacted to the news of them dating, Roman has made sure to steer clear of her. He didn't want to give Mary the wrong impression and he didn't want any problems with his girlfriend.

"So I hear that you're dating someone." She tells him.

"Yeah, I am. It's been almost four months." Roman says with a proud smile.

There was a look in her eyes that quickly came and went, but not without notice. "I'm glad. Maybe this one can last a bit longer?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asks, wanting to defend his best friend. "Is he not capable of holding a relationship? Is that what you're suggesting?"

"No, that's not it at all." Mary tells them. "I'm just saying. We met just when you were getting out of your last relationship. Remember? It didn't end so well, so that's why I'm hoping this one does."

"I'm not doing this. Don't worry about my relationship." Roman says before walking away.

The rest of the day came and went, and before they knew it, the time had come for Roman and Dean to leave for their trip. Gabriella would be taking Dean to the airport, while Danielle takes Roman. The two had spent their night making love, well into the early morning hours. Roman assured himself that he'd get some sleep on the flight over to California, though he couldn't resist the look on his girlfriend's face when she gave him that cute little pout of hers.

"You sure you have everything you need?" Asked Danielle when they were putting his bags in her trunk.

"I have everything. I double checked, I promise." Roman replies.

She gives him a smile and a kiss before closing the trunk and getting in her car. They spent the drive to the airport, talking a bit before they finally got to their destination. Gabriella and Dean were already there, getting his bags from her car. Parking behind them, she turned off her car and they made their way out to get Roman's luggage.

"Good morning." They said to each other and talked for a bit before Gabriella made her way into Dean's arms.

Danielle found her way into familiar arms, as Roman wrapped his strong arms around her waist. She rested her hands on his arms before they kissed. "Have a safe trip."

"I will." Roman says, meeting her lips again for another kiss. "I'll talk to you when we get there."

"Okay." Danielle softly says before resting her head against his chest.

Taking in the scent of his cologne, she closes her eyes and smiles. Feeling his lips on the top of her head, Danielle looks up at him and gets lost in his eyes. There was something in them that caused butterflies in her stomach, and passed her hand against his beard.

"What?" She asked, after a few more moments.

"You look beautiful." He says, with a smile as he hooked a piece of her hair behind her ear as she gives him a sweet smile. "I love you."

Danielle's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't sure she heard him right, because of how it almost sounded like a whisper. "You...love me?"

"I do." He says. "As in, I'm in love with you. I've been afraid for weeks to tell you, but I, um...I just thought I should tell you before I leave."

"Roman, we have to get going." Says Dean, smiling at the couple.

Giving Gabriella a hug and a kiss, he grabbed his luggage and waited for Roman. He kissed Danielle's forehead and grabbed his bags and gave her a wink before walking up to his friend. They made their way into the airport and Danielle closed her eyes when Roman didn't look back. The hope he had that she would return the feeling, he wanted to believe she felt something. Meanwhile, her heart wanted to explode and she just had to tell him what she felt about him.

"Dani, you okay?" Asks her sister.

"I'll be back." She simply says before rushing into the airport.

Looking around as she made her way in, her eyes found the large man, walking with Dean as they look at their airport. There were crowds of people and the two were getting lost in between everyone. Pushing everyone to make her way through, she apologized as she did.

"Roman!" She exclaimed, but to no avail, when he didn't turn around.

There was a lady there, thinking she was wanting to catch her flight, offered to help. She politely declined her offer with a smile, and continued to make her way further into the airport, eventually losing them. Danielle groaned in frustration and looked everywhere, trying to stay calm. Getting to security, she saw the long line of people waiting to get through, but started to look anyways. Seeing a familiar face, Danielle called out his name and saw him looking around. When Roman saw her, he quickly made his way towards her and took her in his arms when they met halfway.

"Danielle, what are you doing?" He softly asks, hooking her hair behind her ears and with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Roman, I love you." She tells him. "You don't know how happy you make me and how amazing of a guy you've been to me. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm glad that I have you. I love you, so much. Please, I don't want you to leave without knowing that."

He could feel the smile on his face, and he pulls her close to him. The happiness that he felt inside of him at the moment, was beyond what words could express. "You sure you can't come with me?"

"Really?" She asks, looking up at him.

Roman chuckles softly and strokes her cheek. "I love you, so much."

Her heart flutters with the passion in his voice. Their lips meet for a kiss as he holds her close to him. Picking her up, she squeals and laughs as he spins her around. When Roman puts her back down, he kisses her again before reluctantly pulling away.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" Roman asks.

"Okay." She says with a smile.

After one more kiss, Roman made his way back to the line and his best friend. Dean smiled and waived at her, as Danielle laughed and did the same before leaving. Texting her sister, she told Gabriella that she was okay and that she was on her way back out. A few minutes later, they shared a hug and Gabriella smiled at the happiness that glowed from her sister.

"Keep him around." She simply says.

"Does that mean, you approve?" Danielle asks.

Gabriella smiled. "Absolutely."

They share another hug and left in their cars. They spend the rest of the day together, even after getting their phone calls from their boyfriends, a few hours later, letting them know that they were in California. The sisters were in a good place in their lives and they weren't trading it for anything.


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

Danielle was on her lunch break with her phone in her hand, as she talked to Roman. He was still in California for his business trip with Dean, but they managed to keep in contact whenever they could. With the time difference and with Danielle still working on her case load, along with Roman always being occupied himself, it wasn't always easy to get a lot of time in, for talking. They talked, literally everyday since he had left and it definitely helped them look forward to being together again.

"I have to get going, but we'll talk soon, okay?" Roman says.

"Okay. I love you." Danielle tells him with a smile, trying to not sound disappointed that their conversation had to be cut short.

He gives her a smile of his own. "I love you, too, baby."

Hanging up, Danielle went back to eating her lunch and saw someone in the corner of her eye, stop by her table. Looking up, she sees Mary and fights the urge to roll her eyes. It had been a while since the last time she saw Mary, and she was okay with that.

"Gabriella isn't here." Danielle says.

"I know. But I wanted to talk to you." Mary says.

Danielle looks up at her. "About what?"

"Well it's more like a question/statement type of thing." She says. "How do can you get a guy's attention?"

"Um...just be yourself." Says Danielle, curiously wondering why Mary would want to ask her for advice. "Why don't you just ask my sister? You work with her."

Mary shrugged and continued to stand there. "I just wanted to ask because I heard that you and Roman were dating and I didn't expect you two to become a couple. So I wanted to know how I can better myself when it comes to relationships."

"Look, I think you should ask Gabriella instead." Danielle tells her as she gathers her things to leave. "She knows you better than me, and can probably give you better advice. But one thing that I will tell you, is this...my relationship with Roman has nothing to do with anyone. It's between me and him, not anybody else, so please respect our privacy. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Danielle leaves, though slightly annoyed, and finishes her salad in her car. She wasn't as open with things as her sister was, and thus, Danielle tended to be more private and more unwilling than her sister to share a lot of things that had to do with her personal life. Only a few people were lucky enough to be let into her life and she was okay with that. Meanwhile, in California, Roman couldn't stop thinking about her. He missed her dearly and couldn't wait until he went back to her, but in the meantime, he kept himself busy with work. This was the longest that they had been apart from each other since they started dating, but he was handling it as best he could. Roman looked at his phone to see the time, and catches himself smiling when his mind goes back to the woman who has a hold on his heart.

"Danielle, if only you knew just how much I love you." He softly says, letting out a sigh, and decided to get some more work done.

Roman usually liked traveling, even if he had to do more work than lounging around and enjoying the sights. But along came a woman who was beautiful, in so many ways. A woman who held such a fire inside of her, that he's never seen in any woman before her. Roman always loved to work, and would always put his career high upon his priority list. Danielle comes along, and he falls in love with her, and he now wants to travel with her by his side as he remembered her love for adventure. Promising himself that he would show her how much he loves her when he gets back home, he finally focuses on his tasks.

A few days later, Danielle is getting home after a long day at work. She had been working overtime everyday, for the almost two weeks. Danielle was in the middle of a case when Roman had left for his trip to California, and she had hoped things would lighten up, seeing as how it was around the holidays. But she didn't mind keeping busy. Putting her keys down on the counter, Danielle went to her room and put her things down. Looking at the time, she put her phone to charge and went to a hot shower. Her and Gabriella had agreed to meet up to hang out with each other and some friends for a bit and she wanted to start getting ready. A little over 30 minutes later, Danielle was fixing her hair and grabbed her phone off the charger to let her sister know she was about to leave her condo. Gabriella replied, reminding her where there would all meet and she answered, letting her know she would be there soon. Dressed in tight blue jeans, a blue shirt that fit a bit snug, with a light sweater with a black, leather jacket and boots, Danielle applied some lip gloss and looked in the mirror one more time. Grabbing everything she needed, she turned off the lights and locked her door, to go to her car. Over half an hour later, Gabriella and their friends were getting to the restaurant that they had all agreed to meet at. They were standing out side and Gabriella looked at her phone, for the third time.

"Gabby, she'll be here. You know she never misses out on hanging out with us. It's probably traffic." Said Natalie, one of their friends from when they first moved out to Florida. She was brunette with green eyes and a petite 5'4, but was in good shape.

"I know, but something doesn't feel right." She responds, getting an uneasy feeling in her stomach. A feeling that she had been having for the last few days and couldn't shake off. "Danielle would have found a way to let us know if she's running late. You know she would never just not show up."

Looking through her contacts, she finds her sister and tries to call. With no answer, she left a voicemail. "Her, Dani, it's me. Um...you're probably driving, and on your way here. But please let me know you're okay. Love you."

The women hear and see an ambulance racing down in the opposite direction that they saw it going in, over 15 minutes earlier. Gabriella thought it was probably an accident nearby, as she also a lot of traffic. It only made her worry more as her gut was telling her that something was wrong. It was unlike her sister to be this late or not show up. Especially without saying anything to anyone. They decided to get a head start and head into the restaurant, against Gabriella's better judgement. As they waited for a table to open up for them, her mind kept wandering off as her stomach was in knots. She no longer felt like eating anything as she continued to worry. The hostess came around and led them to a table large enough for all of them and got their menus. Before the waitress could even come around to take their order, Gabriella got a phone call from someone she knew from work. Her name was Lisa and she was currently working the night shifts in the Emergency Room. They met when she first started working there st the hospital and they had became good friends, but she wondered why she would be calling her at this time because Lisa was supposed to be at work right now.

"Gabby? It's me Lisa." The woman says. "I'm really sorry to interrupt your night, especially like this. But you need to come to the hospital. Now."

"What? Why?" She asked, suddenly alarmed.

"It's Danielle. She's been in an accident." Lisa responds, with urgency.

Gabriella's heart dropped to her feet as everyone at the table looked on. "No, she hasn't. Danielle is fine. Are you sure it's her?"

"Get here as fast as you can. You need to be here. I wouldn't have called you, if I wasn't sure." The woman says before they hang up.

"Danielle is in the hospital, I need to go. I'm so sorry." Gabriella says in a panicked voice.

Grabbing her things, she didn't even hear what anybody says, as she rushes out of the restaurant and runs to her car. Quickly taking off when she pulls out of the parking, tears fill her eyes as she makes her way to the hospital. All she keeps thinking about is getting to her sister. She prayed that it was nothing serious, but it was hard to not believe it wasn't. Getting to the hospital, she parked her car and ran into the emergency room.

"Where's Danielle?" She frantically asked, showing her work id to show that she was an employee at the hospital. "Please, somebody tell me where she is!"

When nobody answered her fast enough or didn't give her good enough answers, she went looking for Lisa. When they found each other, the nurse hugged Gabriella, but she couldn't hold back her tears.

"Where's my sister?" She asked, crying. "I need to see her."

"Sweetheart, you need to wait a bit." Lisa tells her. "The accident was pretty bad, and they're still working on her."

Gabriella let out a sob. "But I NEED to see Danielle! Let me see her!"

The woman tried holding on to her, to keep her from going further into the hospital to look for her sister. The pain in her heart was unexplainable as she sobbed. Hearing footsteps behind her, it was their friends who had made it, and with worried looks on their faces.

"Let me see her." Gabriella cried. "PLEASE! I need to see her! DANIELLE! PLEASE, JUST LET ME GO SEE HER!"

Her friends tried to help her out, but she wanted to fight them off. Tears flowed from her blue eyes, filled with pain and worry. After a few more minutes of trying to fight everyone off, Gabriella cried in the arms of one of her friends. The pain in her voice, every time she spoke, broke their hearts. They knew how much the sisters loved each other and couldn't ever imagine them being apart.

"Danielle..." She says, crying her eyes out even more. " _Please_ , let her be okay. I need her to be okay, I can't lose her."

She quickly regretted how she's been towards Danielle, the last few weeks since their mother arrived. She's been hard on her, and the thought of losing her, along with the pain she felt at the possibility, was more than she could bare. Little by little, they managed to get Gabriella to go to the waiting area, and stop crying.

"I'm sorry for ruining everyone's night." She softly says.

"It's not your fault, Gabby." Said Taylor. "Danielle's health is more important."

They met not to long before her and Dean started working. Becoming close friends, they were together quite often. The minutes seemed to tick by slower and slower as Gabriella waited for word on her sister. She tried to get in contact with Dean, eventually just sending him a text and voicemail to call her as soon as he could.

"Gabriella ." Says a voice, loud enough for her to hear.

It was Lisa, standing by the door that lead to the back. She went up to the older woman and followed her to a more private area. Lisa turned her attention to her pushed away some hair from her face.

"They're doing a lot of testing on her and getting her stabilized, so it's going to be a while before they let anyone see her." She says. "Danielle was bleeding a lot when she was bought in, but luckily, they were able to stop it. Doctors want to make sure that there's no injury that she may have taken, that they can't see, right away. Internal injuries, concussion, stuff like that."

"Okay." The younger of the two, quietly says, before tears fill her eyes again. "Do you know what exactly happened?"

Lisa sighed. "What I do know, is that she was at a light and the person, didn't stop and hit her from behind. It got Danielle's car into the intersection, and she was hit from both sides before she had the chance to get out of the intersection. Luckily, Danielle was wearing her seatbelt and her airbags worked."

Tears fell down her cheeks, and it felt like her heart was breaking into pieces. This pain in her heart was unbearable and she just wanted to scream at everyone.

"Have you talked to Dean, yet?" Lisa asks.

Gabriella shakes her head. "He's on a business trip with her boyfriend and he's not picking up. I left him a message to call as soon as he could."

They talk for a few more minutes before her phone started ringing and she saw that it was Dean. Quickly picking up, she found comfort in the sound of his voice, as Lisa left to give her privacy.

"Baby, is everything okay?" Dean asks, on the other end. "What's going on?"

"Dean, its Danielle." Gabriella says, sobbing. "She's been in a bad accident and she's in the hospital. I can't see her until they finish with her and I'm so scared, Dean. I can't lose her."

"Oh my G...Roman!" Dean yells out on the other line. "It's going to be okay, baby...Roman, it's an emergency!"

She hears Roman on the other end, and cries even more, when she heard him freaking out. The next few minutes were a blur until they hung up, after he told her they would make there as soon as they could. This was the longest night of her life and she could barely keep it together. Gabriella just wanted Dean by her side, until she was able to see her sister. This had to be a dream. That's what she wanted right now, for this to just be a nightmare and for her to just wake up in the morning, and everything go back to normal.


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars and Divas from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

This has been the longest and worst night of Roman's life, that he could possibly remember. Gabriella had left countless messages, before Dean was finally able to get in contact with her and then to hear that Danielle had been in a car accident and taken to the hospital, shook his world. The thought of losing her was something that he didn't want to even think about. The thought alone was enough to drive him absolutely crazy. It was hard enough as it is, for him to keep his calm as the plane took off. They were planning on coming home a few days early and surprising the girls, since they had finished early, but this pushed that day up to now.

"Hey," Dean softly says, as he sits next to his best friend. "She's going to be okay."

"She has to be. I want her in my life, for a very long time." Roman quietly says.

Roman let out a long sigh and tried to relax. But thoughts of Danielle kept invading his mind. It's something he realized he did, thinking about her throughout the day, especially when he was stressed or feeling down. She always found a way to make him feel better. _Please, God, let her be okay. Let her get through this, I can't lose her. Danielle means the world to me and I can't imagine my life without her. Please, let her get through._

Meanwhile, back in Pensacola, Gabriella just returned to the hospital, after forcing herself to go get something to eat. Her stomach growled and that's what reminded her of the empty stomach. It would be a long couple of hours before Dean and Roman arrived at the hospital, so she was by herself at the moment.

"Gabriella Brooks?" Asked a doctor, who wore scrubs.

"Yes, that's me." She answered, walking up to the doctor.

Giving her a small smile, he let her follow him to a more private area so that they could talk. "Ms. Brooks, my name is Dr. James and I'm the doctor that will be taking care of Danielle during her time here."

"Okay, and how is my sister doing?" She asks.

"Danielle is doing okay." He replies, but she felt like there was more. "Your sister is very lucky, Ms. Brooks. With the severity of the accident, it's a miracle that she didn't leave that accident with much worse than what she came in with. Danielle, though, has a mild concussion from the accident, and some scrapes and bruises. We were able to stop the bleeding that she had from her leg because of a cut from some of the glass from the accident, and we had to stitch her up. When she wakes up, we'll do some x-rays to check for any internal damage that may have occurred and we want to make sure that her cut is healing properly as well as her concussion. But so far, things seem to be going good. You still get to keep her, Ms. Brooks. She's a very lucky woman for having survived that."

Tears fill her eyes and she tries to hold it back. "Thank you, so much. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Anytime. By the way," Dr. James starts saying. "She's in room 227."

Relief washed over her as she nodded. Waiting until he walked away, Gabriella quickly went looking for the room and let out a sharp breath when she did. Quietly walking in, she let out a quiet sob when she saw her sister, laying on that hospital bed.

"Danielle." She softly sobbed, covering her mouth with one hand and placing the other on her stomach, as if to keep from making noise.

The oldest of the two, had her eyes closed as the heart monitor beeped. There was a cut on her lip, that had some bruising around it and another one right above her left eyebrow. Cuts and bruises were on her arms, especially on her hands, probably from trying to cover her face. Curiously, she slightly lifted up the sheets and softly gasped seeing her left thigh, heavily bandaged.

"I don't know if you're able to hear me right now," Gabriella says, gently grabbing one of her hands. "But I'm so happy that you're doing so good. They said you have a mild concussion and that they're going to do x-rays when you wake up. But that you're doing really good and that you're very lucky for someone who was in that bad of an accident. I'm so proud of you, Dani. You're going to be okay, you can do this. _Please._ _Je t'aime._ I love you."

Giving her a kiss on the cheek, Gabriella let go of her sister's hand and hesitantly left. To support her sister's recovery, she knew she had to be at her best. This was someone who always took care of Gabriella and always made sure she had everything she ever wanted and needed, without ever complaining or asking for anything in return. It was time for her to be the one to have some kind of a part in taking care of Danielle, in the best way that she could. If Danielle ever let her. The older sister never usually let anyone take care of her, preferring to do things herself. But Gabriella owed it to her, to do so and with how Roman was with her, he would not allow for her to do that now. Roman always tried to spoil her and take care of her, but Danielle didn't let him. That never stopped him from trying, and she would let him spoil her with something every once in a while. She was quickly becoming the center of his world and Roman was fiercely protective of her.

 ** _Early that morning..._**

"Gabby!" Says Dean, making a beeline towards his girlfriend before jogging to her.

She jumps into his arms and tries to not cry. Her eyes were still puffy from all of the crying that she had done. Tears stung her eyes and she quietly cried against his shoulder as she dug her body into his. Hearing a deep voice booming through the hallway, the couple looked to see Roman fuming mad at the guards for holding him back.

"Oh no." Dean mumbled.

Letting go of his girlfriend, he made his way to them and managed to calm his best friend down enough to get the guards to let him continue where he was going.

"Where's Danielle?" He asked with such roughness in his voice, though though sadness fulled his eyes, that were usually filled with life and happiness. "I want to see her."

The man was a mess as his voice ended up croaking. Roman had his hair in a bun, but it was messy and a few pieces of hair were out of place. He looked like he hadn't slept at all, which he hadn't, because his focus and concern was in his girlfriend. When he saw Gabriella, he went and asked if she was okay before asking about Danielle. She told them what she was told by the doctor and that by the time she arrived this morning, she had already been taken to get x-rays done.

"So she's awake?" Roman asked with hope in his voice.

"Yes." She tells him. "They'll let us see her when they bring her back to her room."

Roman leans against the wall and slides all the way down. Digging his hands into his face, he just wanted to see her so badly. He wanted to see for himself that she really was okay and that he still had a chance to keep telling her that he loves her. Roman was craving for her and his heart hurt not knowing how she really was.

Time seemed to pass by ever so slowly, and Dean stayed with Gabriella to comfort her. Roman smiled at them and at how, despite the circumstances at the moment, they were always happy together. Dean truly loves her and she was his top priority. He put her first before anything and was so protective of her. Looking through his phone, he found a few missed calls from his parents and his sisters. Groaning, he called his parents first, knowing that they would probably be wondering why he hadn't answered.

"Roman, how are you?" Asked his mother. "I was starting to worry about you."

"I'm okay." He lied. "I'm sorry, I'm just tied up right now."

His mother sighed, and he knew that she wouldn't let it go. "So you're going to tell me what's really wrong, right?"

Seeing a doctor come by and ask for Gabriella, his heart skipped a beat. "I'm physically okay, mom. It's just..."

He really didn't want to talk about what happened to Danielle. Roman wanted to keep her business away from others, especially when he wanted to just protect her from ever getting hurt again. But he missed the comfort of his mother, as if he was still a child.

"Mom, she got into an accident." He whispers. "They said she's okay, but it looks like they just finished doing some X-rays to make sure no internal injuries are there."

"Oh, sweetheart." She says in a soothing voice, knowing who he was talking about, without him having to say her name. "Did you get to see her yet?"

"Not yet, but they just called Gabriella." Roman says. "Hopefully I can get to see her in a bit. I don't know how the X-rays came out, so we're not completely out of it yet. Mom, I can't lose her, too. I need her."

The last few words, came out barely above a whisper. But his mother heard it perfectly fine, and it broke her heart, knowing that her son was hurting.

"Danielle is a very strong, woman." She tells her son. "You know she's going to fight whatever she can to keep going. She'll make it, son."

While he spent a few more minutes talking to her, Gabriella quickly made her way to Danielle's room. They had recently taken her back after getting some more testing done, and she was wide awake and asking for her. Walking into the room, she saw a woman sitting up in bed, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Dani!" She exclaimed, gently taking her sister into her arms.

Danielle's arms, wrapped around her for a hug. "I'm going to be okay. I'm sorry."

"For what?" Gabriella asked, confused.

"For putting the responsibility on you, to take time off of work and—" Danielle says, before getting interrupted.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she grabs her hands and holds them in hers. "No, don't be sorry. There's no need to be, Dani. You're more important to me and I want to make sure you're good. Don't try to argue with me on that because I am going to help take care of you."

"Help, take care of me?" She asks. "Like it's more than one person?"

"You didn't forget about Dean and the guy you have wrapped around your finger, did you?" Gabriella asks with a smile.

Danielle looked at her, until the realization set in. "Roman? Where is he? Is he still in California?"

"He's outside with Dean." Gabriella says with a smile, knowing how much she's missed the man, since they left. "I just wanted to see you first and have you to myself."

She received a big smile from her sister and quickly returned it. She texted Dean and Roman to let them know, that they could come up to see her, and gave them the room number. It wasn't long until they saw two large men walk in.

"So glad to see you're okay." Dean says, giving her a gentle hug. "You had us worried about you."

Danielle's attention turned to the large man that had walked in behind him. Her heart skipped a bit and she wanted to just jump into his arms, after seeing him again after being away from him for as long as she has.

Those eyes sparkled as their eyes locked. Feeling the grin that was now on his face, his feet finally moved and he found his arms around her. Roman didn't want to hurt her, so he tried to be as gentle as he could, even though he wanted to feel her against his body.

"Danielle." He says, in a deep voice.

Butterflies fill her stomach, at the way her name sounded, coming from his lips. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. You don't know how happy I am, that you're okay." He says, pulling away and gazing into her eyes. Roman's fingers lightly grazed the cut and bruise on her lip and on the top of her eyebrow.

A soft smile pulled at her lips and he mirrored it, before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Danielle let out a quiet giggle, causing Roman to smile at the sound when he heard it. Man, how he missed that. They spent the time talking, until they suggested that Dean and Roman go get some rest.

"No, I'm staying." Roman says, still holding on to Danielle's hand. "I'm not leaving her."

"It's fine, you can come back later." She tells him. "Try to get something to eat and get some rest. You look like you haven't slept. Which is probably ironic coming from someone who sometimes doesn't sleep too good and who'll stay up the majority of the night, when I can't..."

She drifted off in her sentence, as if thinking about it and Roman couldn't help but chuckle. He could tell that she wasn't at 100%, but she was up and seemed to be doing good, so far.

"I promise, it's fine." Danielle tells him, reassuring him. "Just come back to me."

"Of course, I will." He says, kissing her forehead.

They hesitantly departed, while Roman lingered around a bit longer. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She says, before meeting his lips for another soft kiss.

A few hours later, Roman made his way back into the hospital and had a visitor's pass on his shirt. He had gotten here first, before Dean and Gabriella, and was just going to take this time to be with her, just the two of them. With flowers in his hand, he made his way to her room, in jeans, white sneakers, and a black short sleeve, shirt that was snug on him and showed his muscles. He had his hair up in a bun, and out of his face. Finding her room, he finds Danielle trying to stand up, and a nurse there, trying to help. Roman couldn't help but smile at the look on her face, and he knew that she truly wanted to try to stand on her own. The pain from her leg, made it a bit hard for her to put pressure on it, but she tries. And that's what mattered to her.

"I'm back." He says, loud enough for them to hear. "I'm sorry to interrupt anything."

"It's fine." The nurse says as he catches those eyes that he loves to see.

Danielle gives him a sweet smile and she asks the nurse if they could have a moment. The nurse smiles and leaves the room. Roman quickly makes his way to her and one of his arms make their way around her waist, helping to keep her up.

"You made it back." She softly says.

"And with flowers." He says, showing her the roses that he had bought along the way.

Her face lit up and it reached her eyes, followed by that smile of hers that he loves so much. Danielle thanked him and melted into his arms.

"Shouldn't you be resting, baby doll?" He asks, as his strong arm stays around her waist.

"Yes, but I was tired of laying around all day." Danielle replies, as she pouts. "And she really did try to talk me into resting again, but you know how I am."

Roman's heart melting, he helps her sit at the edge of the bed. "You need to rest."

"But," She starts to argue, until his lips land on hers.

"No, you're going to rest. You need to get better." He tells her.

Danielle pouts again, and he knew that she didn't like it, but Danielle needed it. Staying put on the edge of the bed, the nurse came in and saw that Roman had gotten her to sit back down and smiled at him, while she mouthed 'thank you' to him. Looking around, he managed to find something to put the flowers in, and made his way back to her. Standing in front of her, he took her hands and looked at them and her arms. There were cuts and bruises on them and gently kissed her hands. Placing his finger under her chin, she looked up at him and their gazes locked. They share another kiss and she giggled.

"How are you feeling?" He asks, gently placing his hands on her waist.

"I feel like shit. Everything hurts." She replied. "I'm sorry."

Roman looks at her, confused. "Sorry for what?"

"For cutting your trip short." Danielle says. "I know you had to work and it wasn't your fault that I got into an accident, and I know you like to work."

"Hey, stop." He softly says, cupping her face in his hands. "Don't be sorry, baby. It's not your fault, what happened. Besides, you're more important to me than a business trip. You mean so much to me and I rather be here with you."

Danielle still felt bad. She wasn't used to being put first, but Roman always made sure that he did. He wanted to take care of her and she knew that, but she always wanted to make sure she could do it in her own, too.

"I love you." She says.

"I love you, too." Roman says, with one of the cutest smile she's ever seen him with.

Danielle couldn't help but return the smile before they share a kiss. He helped her lay back down and saw her wince in pain, as she gently tried to get her injured leg under the covers.

"I got it." Danielle quietly says, before Roman could even offer to help.

He grabs a chair and sits by her side. They happily take each other's hand and intertwine their fingers, while they start talking. Danielle asks him how the rest of his trip went, since the last time they talked, before her accident. Roman tells hers and asks her how her days went. His thumb lazily circles her hand, and there's no denying how happy they both are. Everyone and everything else, falls to the background, as the only thing the two care about is this moment with each other. Gabriella and Dean soon join the couple, and it wasn't long after that they were given the news that the X-rays came back normal and that Danielle would be able to go home the next day.

Gabriella already lets it be known that she would stay with Danielle for a few days to help her out while she heals from the accident. And it lets Danielle have a way of transportation, seeing as how her driving wasn't going to happen for a while. They knew it might drive her crazy, allowing people to do everything for her because she wasn't used to it. But they would make sure to let her just relax and let them take care of her for once.


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.**

It's been a little over a week since Danielle was able to go home from the hospital. Gabriella had been able to get a few days off of work to help her out while she got some things situated, including with her car insurance because of the accident. The past few days, have also done them good, as they have been able to spend time together, even as Gabriella became her chauffeur, driving her around. Of course, Dean and Roman would come visit for dinner, if they didn't go over to Roman's house. He made sure to try to take care of her while he was around, as Danielle protested against him, until she gave in to it. She would try to give him her best pout, but Roman would just smile and laugh, looking at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world and with all of the love that he held for her. The sparkle in her eyes, in response to it, was mirrored in her smile to him.

"So I have to go back to work on Monday." Gabriella says as they sit down for dinner at Roman's house. "Since you still don't have something fully set up for transportation, is there anything we can do to help out on that?"

"It's okay, I'll figure something out, until I'm able to have my own car again." Danielle says, taking a bite of her mashed potatoes. "I'm still not able to go back to work yet, so that's one less place I don't have to get transpiration for."

The four of them tried to think of something for her, until Roman spoke up. "I could drive you around this weekend. That's fine with with me."

"I don't want to be a burden." She softly says.

"Danielle, I'm offering." He tells her.

The look in her eyes, gave Roman his answer. He winked at her, and was rewarded with a smile from Danielle. Roman also knew that it allowed him to spend as much time with her as he could, and after her accident, and being away from her for almost two weeks, he wanted as much time with Danielle as he possibly could. The conversation moved on, even after they finished dinner. The dishes were washed and everything was cleaned up in the kitchen by the guys, before they went to the living room to meet with the girls, on the couch. Gabriella snuggled against Dean as his arms went wrapped around her, and Danielle did the same, sighing happily. They watched some television before Dean and Gabriella decided to call it a night and head home.

"Do you want us to drive you home?" Dean asks Danielle.

"She can stay with me." Roman says, pulling her close to him when his arm rests around her waist.

Danielle's eyes meet his. She was close enough to smell his cologne, one that had become a favorite of hers. Leaning into him, she agrees and lands her lips on his jaw.

"I'll just get your bag from the trunk." Gabriella says with a smile.

"So you just knew that you would stay with me." Roman says with a deep chuckle.

Danielle shrugs. "You know I always insist on having one with me. With my adventures and all."

"I love you." He says with a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you, too." She replies against his lips.

"Okay, lovebirds. Get a room." Dean says, shaking his head.

"Like we don't tell you and Gabby, the same thing." Danielle says with a smile.

When Gabriella returns, Danielle takes her bag and thanks her. Giving them a hug, they say their goodbyes and wait until they leave to go back into the house. Roman takes her bag upstairs to his room and walks out of his room to see Danielle making her way up the stairs.

"Ice cream." She simply says when she reaches him, grabbing his hands.

Roman smiles and kisses her nose. "Come on."

They go to their favorite ice cream spot, before they end up just driving around for about an hour. When they get back to Roman's house, Danielle starts making her way up the stairs. He follows shortly after, catching up to her and closing the door to his bedroom, behind them. She grabs one of his large hands and gently tugs him towards her.

"I'm going to take a shower." She softly says. "Come with me."

His eyes follow her as she makes her way to the bathroom that's connected to his room. The last time they were intimate was before Roman had left for California. He wanted to make sure that she had physically recovered enough for them to be intimate again. Undressing, her eyes catches the healing cut that's on her thigh, after the stitches had been taken out. Sighing, she pushes the thought away and makes her way into the shower after putting her hair up. Water makes its way onto her body, and it wasn't long until she feels Roman behind her. His lips softly start their way from behind her ear, and down her neck until they reach her shoulder. His hand rests on her stomach, as his body presses against her back.

Grabbing the soap, he lathers it up in his hands and applies it onto her body. Turning around, she faces him and leans up to give him a kiss. Roman's hands snake their way around her waist and pulls her to him, deepening the kiss. He gently pushes her against the shower wall and makes his way down to her neck. A soft moan escapes her lips as her hands dig into his hair. Another kiss on her lips before hers leaves a trail on his chest. Grabbing her face in between his hands, Roman's lips are back on hers, and his tongue passes along her bottom lip, wanting an entry. Granting it, another moan from Danielle earns her a groan from him, as his erection becomes evident, as it pressed against her. His hand finds its way, in between her legs and a soft gasp escapes her lips when his finger rubs against her clit. Danielle moans when he passes it along her warm center that was now, more than ready for him.

She squeals when he picks her up and her legs automatically wrap around his waist. With their lips intact, Roman is careful to not hurt her leg, but holds on to her tightly, with his arms around her waist. Feeling the tip of his erection at her entrance, Danielle holds on tightly to him. As he finally enters her, a moan fills the shower as a deep groan follows until he fills her up completely. As he starts to thrust, sounds of pleasure are all around the bathroom, as Danielle digs her hand into his hair, while her other hand grabs on to him. Roman moans when she tugs on his ear and his face finds it's way to her neck where his teeth gently scrape against her skin.

Roman rests his face against her neck as their bodies move together. He nibbles on her neck, while Danielle leans her head back, giving him more access. He growls, in pleasure, as her nails dig into his skin. Danielle moans a little louder and almost squeals each time he hits her spots, and doesn't want it to end. Feeling her body tightening, he knows she's close, and gently bites at her neck when he feels it in himself, as well. A few minutes later, she reaches her climax and releases it, moaning as she does. After a few more thrusts, Roman groans as he releases his seed inside of her, and relaxes his body when it passes.

Catching their breathes, he pulls out and gently puts her down. The two clean each other up, before turning off the shower and drying each other off. Roman picks up Danielle as though she was his bride and takes her to the bedroom, laying her down on the bed before letting her long hair back down. She didn't remember the sheets being pulled back before going into the bathroom, but it didn't matter at the moment, when Roman's body made it's way on top of hers. Their lips, once again meeting for a passionate kiss. He was definitely going to make sure that he took care of her tonight, for as long as he could. Making his way down her body, Danielle's body arches into him as his warm mouth takes in her nipples, that are already aroused. His fingers flick over one, while his mouth focused on the other. When Roman finally moved on, their reached her thighs and he sweetly kissed near her scar before moving on to the inside of her thighs as he rests them over his shoulder.

"Roman," Danielle moans when his lips meet her center.

He makes sure that he gives it to her until she reaches another climax. Afterwards, Danielle straddles him when he lays down, but sits up for another kiss. A smile pulls at his lips when she giggles and his arms reach around her waist. Positioning herself, Roman then lays back down and a moan escapes her lips, as well as his, when Danielle lowers herself on him. Taking him in, her hips start to move and he growls at the movements of her hips. Grabbing on to them, his fingers dig into her skin as he guides her hips to continue the same movements. Danielle leans her head back as her nails dig into his skin.

"Danielle," Roman growls, when he sits up and finds himself deeper inside of her.

Passionate thrusts, help drive them both crazy, as they get close. They both reach powerful climaxes together, and ride it out until it finishes. Danielle rests on top of him, leaning her head on his chest as they catch their breath. Roman kisses the top of her head and softly runs his fingertips up and down her spine. Hearing his heartbeat, it soothes her as she starts to close her eyes.

"We're not done, yet." Roman whispers.

"This wasn't enough?" Danielle asks, picking her head up to look at him, slightly amused.

Their noses touch before he speaks again. "I'm making up to you, all the time I was away. And I'm making sure I take care of you, tonight. Besides, I just can't get enough of you."

Another kiss, continues their passionate night, as they make love until the early morning hours. When Roman wakes up, he looks at the clock and sees that it's almost 9:30 in the morning. His arms are securely wrapped around Danielle, who's peacefully sleeping, and snuggled against him. Roman kisses where her neck meets her shoulder and feels her stir, though she stays asleep. Putting on a pair of basketball shorts, he goes downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast after brushing his teeth. After thinking about what to make, Roman makes pancakes with scrambled eggs. It's not until he's almost finished, that Danielle makes her way into the kitchen, wearing one of his shirts and her hair up in a messy bun. They both smile and share a kiss, as his arms circle her waist.

"Did I hurt you, last night?" He quietly asks.

"No, you didn't." She says, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You were fine and I'm fine, too."

Their lips brush against each others and they stand in the same spot for a bit longer before Danielle went to sit down. As Roman finished cooking, and cleaned up, he thought about how it feel, waking up to her everyday. It felt right going to bed and waking up with her by his side. It felt right, coming home to her on the days that they'd spend together at each other's place. Danielle had brought happiness, and love into his house and it felt weird when she wasn't there. It was quiet and lonely.

"What would you like for Christmas?" Roman finds himself asking as he gets to the table with their plates and takes a seat.

"Nobody has to get me anything." She says, shrugging. "I'm happy with what I have."

Roman looks up at her as she takes a bite of her pancakes. "There's nothing you want?"

"Just to be with you, Gabby, and Dean. And maybe some friends. And your family because I really like them." Danielle says.

"You never ask for anything. I mean, it's not a bad thing." He quickly says. "I just want to be able to give you whatever you want."

"You want to spoil me." She says, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Roman smiles and drinks some of his juice. "What can I say? I like to spoil my girl, especially when I think that she deserves everything."

"I'll be okay, baby." Danielle says with a smile, as she rests a hand on the side of his face. "What would you like?"

"You." He replies, without hesitation.

She gives him a sweet smile as her heart skips a beat. Roman was so good to her and made sure that she was always okay and always put her first. Always made sure that she had what she wanted and needed, when she was always the one to put others before her. What she did to deserve a man like him, she didn't know. What Danielle did know was that she wasn't going to let him go.

"I love you." Danielle tells him.

"I love you, too." Roman says with a smile, before giving her a kiss. "You know, we should stay with each other more often."

She softly laughs, kissing his chin and wraps her arms around his waist. "Why, because you'll have me in bed whenever we do?"

"That is a very good plus." He says, brushing his lips against hers. "But maybe I just really like being with you. Like this."

"We need to change that maybe into an absolutely or something." Danielle quickly says.

Roman chuckles and kisses her when he cradles her face in his hands. His lips were warm against hers and she just melted against him. She wouldn't mind being in the same place with him, as long as she possibly could.


End file.
